Brand new world? But where's the popcorn?
by JustAnotherHorribleGuy
Summary: The story of a man who by some awfully random chance, ended up in the rapefest known as the Monster Girl Quest. But of course, having an alien human wandering around the world doesn't come without its brand of trouble.
1. Prolugue

Rinse, wash, repeat.

These mandatory options was done everyday by our black-skinned protagonist, who was just able to savage this piece of normality into his mourning routine. "Man, it's just gonna be one of those days, ain't it?" Maxwell commented as he sat himself down on the toilet seat.

 _As usual, life is getting a bit too dull for my liking, but my way of spicing up life would probably not go so well in society,_ the man internally monologued, as he hovered over the seat, waiting to excrete his waste. Of course, this meant that Maxwell Richards would be skipping out on work early, after halfheartedly skimming over the papers that were about other people's mistakes, failed bankruptcies or just people complaining.

All in all, it was not a very self-satisfying job which left the man to look for extracurricular activities at his own time. Usually, this ended being either joining some kind of competition, parkouring with the thrill of his life on the line, or just popping a cold Sprite with the boys over a nice Smash Bros Session.

Unfortunately, 'spicing up life' wasn't going to be a likely option as exposing supernatural abilities would mostly attract the wrong people, as told by the movies.

But now it wasn't the time to be reminiscing work after-hours; now was time for the quite literally... shitting.

A broadcasting of a bizarre expression, and a bizarre clenching of muscles later, the man had completed the last step in the digestive system. Looking up at the clock, he saw that it read 8:10 A.M. Upon seeing this the man sighed, wiping off wet hands with a moist towel. "It seems like it's time for me to get back into the modern slavery." With a white jacket, green undershirt, blue jeans and sketchy off-brand Nikes, the man was set to go and conquer the workforce.

Opening the door, he was met with what one would identify as a 'reaper', with the dark robe, large scythe and all. Maxwell could easily identify its gender as female, as he didn't see many men with assets on their upper chest. The pale complexion of what small patches of skin that wee visible, indicated that this woman didn't get out in the sun much.

Or A.K.A. the _wrong_ person.

Instead of freaking out over the existence of an inhuman creature in his home, the man just plainly asked, "I hope this isn't the end, for there is much fun to be done in the future, like... playing Roblox, or beating up people... in games, of course." _No need to freak out, it's so generic it could drain the fun out of anything._

The reaper, showing a downcast expression, shook her head and held her scythe closer to her chest. Maxwell took notice of the numerous skulls that were melded together at the end of the blade. "No, but it is time for you to meet us in the Netherworld," she said as-matter-as-factually, her tone empty and seemingly lifeless. Her scythe began to slightly glow a maleficent red.

 _Netherworld..?! And she seems to have supernatural abilities too,_ Maxwell rationalized, slowly flexing his fingers while doing so. "And who is exactly is 'us'? And how are you going to bring me to them..."

Maxwell trailed off as he saw the reaper raise her scythe high above her head. The man grunted and brought his arms to cover his his face, as a heavy gust of air suddenly appeared out of the unknown reaches of his one room apartment, now settling into a 'heavy' dark miasma that seemed to exerting gravitational force on himself and the numerous items in his bathroom. _I know I asked for some excitement, but paying repair bills isn't my sort of thing._

Her expression went dark. "Then, this is a goodbye," she said rearing back and shifting her scythe into a position that more suited for beheading one's head off... or sending people to the so called, 'Netherworld'.

The scythe flew forward, but Maxwell was already swinging a discounted razor as if it were a legendary weapon capable of stopping the mighty administrator of death. "You wish for a fight?! Then I'll give you one thrice-fold!" The man yelled out as his 'weapon' making contact with the reaper's glowing scythe.

Outside, those who were walking past could see a bright light engulf the house as it seemed to fade away from existence.

* * *

When the man came to, he found himself on a surface that was impossible to be moved on. To be exact, he was falling through the air at a speed surpassing terminal velocity. "Damned reaper!" He yelled out, flailing his arms uselessly as the distance between him and the ground grew less with each passing second.

 _Okay, I've heard about 'surface tension'..._ Maxwell nearing the surface below him, pulled out one of his shoes and sent it flying to the ground only moments before he met contact with it. _Ha, Got ya!_

A tower of dust exploded from the area of impact. And in the midst of it all, a shadow of a young man slowly rose up from the ground, in a matter not unlike that of a zombie's. "Ahhh," he moaned out, clutching his thighs with both hands. "Me legs feel like they have been replaced with the jelly. But at least I'm not dead, now that would've just been oof."

As Maxwell gathered his bearings, he took a moment to give his surroundings a quick look over. Looking to his left, the man was met with a grand, lush forest that managed to look both Tropical and Temperate simultaneously. Brushing aside the rather unnatural biome, Maxwell turned to his right, and was this time met with an old, semi-medieval looking town.

"I doubt they'll have Wifi or any electronics for that matter," he said, voicing out his issues to no one in particular. Heaving, he hopped up slightly, getting the blood rushing back into his legs. _But I did ask for an adventure. Hopefully this isn't generic as hell, though._

With that thought rebounding of the walls in his head, Maxwell set off to go and meet the townspeople.

* * *

A few hops and a skip later, the man had reached the outskirts of the village. As came closer, he spotted a sign reading, 'Welcome to Ilias Village! Worship Ilias!'. Maxwell inwardly cringed in disgust as he slowly backed away from the sign. "Man, oh man, I really hate cults. Too many simple minded people…"

 _Squish!_

"Holy shite!" He exclaimed, leaping back as if he were a deer caught in head-lights. Slowly raising his shoes, Maxwell could spot a slime-like liquid slowly dripping off of it. _Fucking hell, and these were new ones too._ "Who would do such a thing?"

"Hehehe, why, _I_ would…" A feminine voice eerily giggled out, causing Maxwell suddenly to slam his foot back into the ground. However, instead of the slime producing a satisfying splat, if had formed a ring around his shoe and was now receding back into the town.

"The hell?" Maxwell let out, as he walked after the slime trail. Of course, he would be a fool to let such extraterrestrial life leave his sight. And seeing as the reaper had practically annihilated his house and possibly sent him here, it wouldn't take him much to be after the creature.

Plus, he was quite hungry and the slime resembled a nice dollop of jelly. Surely a taste test in the future wouldn't hurt? With that in mind, the man trailed after the moving mass of slime, absently noting the lack of any persons in the decently sized town. To Maxwell's 'surprise', the mass of slime suddenly paused and began morphing into the shape of…

"A slime girl?!" The man exclaimed, more bewildered by the act then anything. _First it was that Reaper girl… hope this one doesn't try to blow me away! It would really mess up my plans and all._

The slime girl turned her now anime-esque body to meet Maxwell's own features. "Hello mister! Why don't you join me in a never-ending embrace of love! Oh, I bet you'll taste so _exotic_." The bubbly creature held her outstretched arms in the man's direction, small drips of slime residue falling of as she did so.

"How about we hippity hoppity over to **no** property?" The black-skinned man responded, tensing up his muscles ever-so slightly.

The slime girl brought a finger to her chin, tilting her head slightly while doing so. "Hoppitng, I'm not a frog… I just want to love you and for you to love me!"

Maxwell shook his head slowly whilst backing away. "Look mate, I don't know how you monster-folk do it, but according to ever so accurate romance dramas, love takes at least a few days to take effect."

"Oh~ but I thought we could get to now each other _physically_ ," the slime replied, licking her lips with great hunger.

"Well. It appears that we do not see eye to eye; time to resort to pulling my non-existent bullshit protagonist powers," Maxwell muttered under his breath, as he scanned his surroundings for any viable weapons. "Maybe I could make do with that chair…"

"What are you saying, hunny?"

The black-skinned man gave her a fake cheery smile and placed his weight on his left foot, prepared to backpedal at the slightest indication of approach. After all, he couldn't afford to get his outfit soaked. "Oh nothing," he replied, sticking his hands into both pockets.

But before anything resembling a fight could take place, a yell rang out through the air, shifting both of their attention to a shorta purple-haired kid who was running towards the confrontation with a certain 'package' recognizable to any avid anime watcher.

 _Cape, pants, boots, medieval-looking shirt and a sword that actually looks useful? But where is his giant broadsword that you probably could never hold in the real world?_ Maxwell questioned as he took in the boy's outward appearance.

"Halt or uh… stop! In the name of justice, I shall rid you from this town for you are disrupting the peace and scaring my fellow townspeople!" the Generic Anime Protagonist Number 8765 exclaimed whilst raising its sword up in the air.

"It appears that the hero we needed has arrived."

* * *

 **Yep, took a long time to edit, oof.**


	2. True Protagonist

Maxwell allowed a small grin to grow on his face. For a hopelessly generic looking kid, he met three of the most important requirements on Maxwell's list for success. _He **does not** wield a large impractical broadsword, he probably has some skill and he acts hopelessly gullible, which means materials can be gained from him in the future._

"Go on, go on!" Maxwell yelled from the sidelines, gaining only a look filled with confusion in return.

Raising his left eyebrow, the purple-haired boy let out a sigh before slowly drawing out his blade. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Well he's my new hub-"

"I am an outsider who is being _sexually_ harassed by this alien dipshit!" The black-skinned man yelled, cutting off the slime. He then pointed a finger their general direction. "Now Oswell, go attack her as she won't be abler to focus on me with that sword of yours."

"Oswell..?" The kid gave his surroundings a quick glance over. "Who's that?"

In response, Maxwell pointed at the only other male in the immediate area. "You, mate. Who else do you think I'd be talking to?"

A tic mark formed on the shorta's forehead. "My _name_ is Luka," he stated with some slight hostility in his voice.

With a mocking grin plastered on his face, Maxwell walked over to him and gave the shorta a hearty pat on the back. "Whatever you say, _Oswell_."

Luka frowns, mostly likely unhappy with the name Maxwell came up with for him. "I will deal with you later, as there is a more dangerous threat in the area." The purple-haired shorta now turns to the slime, which to Maxwell's surprise hasn't assaulted time at anytime during the intermission. "Can you _please_ leave? You're scaring everyone and putting their lives at risk."

 _Yep, he said the P-word. Of course, now everything's going to go back to normal… not ya twat,_ Maxwell internally grumbled, with a misleading smile on his face. Allowing his displeasure to surface probably wouldn't help the situation.

"I could… but I need someone to be embraced with~ Maybe you could do~" The slime then lunges forward, her lower body losing its human form.

"Ahhh!" With a mighty cry Luka steps forward, slashing his sword in a downward fashion in an effort to bisect the creature.

"And… he missed," Maxwell mockingly drawled out in an announcer's voice. It appeared that having a good sword did not automatically equate to having actual skill unlike what his primary reasoning provided. But this required greater investigation. "Oswell, is this your first battle? I mean you have a worn sword, yet you swing with the ability of a toddler."

"Th- That was just a taunt! The next strike will hit, I promise!" Oswe- err, Luka responded in a shaky tone. It seemed more like Luka was attempting t motivate himself then convince Maxwell otherwise.

The slime on the other hand grew a smug grin on her face. "Oh, those this mean that I am your first? How about you let me take your _other_ first," she said before oozing into Luka's boots.

"Woah!" Luka exclaimed as the sudden intrusion.

 _And I'll just stand here, and throw useless advice like a generic background figure._ "Look kid, press 'A' to spin attack! For a chance of critical damage utilize "A" + 'X'!"

"What?" Luka swung once more, and like the previous attempt, completely missed his target with his lodging itself into the ground. He then quickly backtracked, removing himself from the slime's goo. "Ick, now I'm going to have to wash these again."

"Not to be a wisecrack or anything, but that is the least of your troubles, Oswell," Maxwell commented, pointing towards the now sloshing slime girl.

The slime girl reformed herself into a human female figure. "Ahh, you don't seem much like a warrior… so you should stop swinging and start breeding," she taunted, jiggling her butt all the while.

 _Well, time for me to step in. Can't let the kid di- err.. get raped, after all._ Maxwell quickly looked over his surroundings and spotted a wooden chair through the window of a house on the left. Running towards the house, the man leaped in through an open window, grabbed the chair and leaped back towards the scene.

"Heave ho!" Maxwell yelled out as jumped up and brought down the chair from over his head, with said chair making contact with the slime's general body area. To his surprise, the chair did more damage then expected, with the slime being thrown off Luka's leg area and some other pieces of slime flying around in the air.

"Oswell, use your special attack move!" Maxwell yelled through staggered breathing; knocking that slime away had given quite a bit of knockback in return. "Especially before she reforms herself!"

Luka gave the man a quick glance before taking a crouching position. Taking an unnecessarily deep breath, the shorta yelled out, " _Whirlwind of Carnage!_ "

"Dang, you actually have a special attack?!" Maxwell exclaimed. _I mean, having a special attack before having any actual skill, is moving into generic protag lands._ And in the eyes of _our_ protagonist this was not a thing to be proud of.

"Of course, I do," Luka grins. " What kind of hero would I be if I didn't?" He then leaped forward in a manner akin to that of a cat's, and began twirling around, sword being held by both hands.

 _Apparently, kingdom hearts can teach you a thing or two about fighting!_ Maxwell quickly backed away to the sidelines. The last thing he needed was to get impaled with that sword. _Now that would be the deux ex machina of bad ends!_

"Owie! So, mean…" Lasting cuts and slashes appeared on the slime girl's body as the 'Whirlwind of Carnage' repeatedly made its mark against her skin. Any attempts to regenerate were quickly overlooked as the sword kept hitting its mark, until she finally had enough with the repetitiveness "Fine, you want me to leave? I'll just come back later…" And with that she oozed back into the forest.

Bearing a wide grin, Luka turned over to look at Maxwell. "I did it! I beat my first monster!" He yelled out ecstatically.

"Naw man," Maxwell said, placing a brotherly arm around him. "Oswell, we did it. For the power of friendship conquers all." And they both stood still, staring into the non-existent sunse-

Not.

In response Luka just shoved the man off him and futility requested him to call him Luka.

Looking up, Maxwell squinted upon spotting two specks in the sky, who's brightness resembled annoying, bright strobe lights. And they seemed to be… colliding with each other? Not even ten seconds later he saw one of the make contact with the ground, not unlike what had happened to him earlier this day.

But unlike that event, he was forced to stumble due to tremendous shockwaves being released from the epicenter of the crash. In any case, Maxwell's 'gamer' sense was kicking in. And it was telling him that this was a major event for the 'protagonist' and that he should just leave Luka alone for the current moment. Last thing he needed was to be written off as a side character.

"Sorry friend. An adventure awaits me and the audience does not wish for me to trail behind you. I _think_. I'm not really confident about my knowing's about of what goes beyond the wall," Maxwell said, placing a 'brotherly' hand on Luka's shoulder.

"So, you're heading off now?" The shorta just decided it would be best if he ignored the majority of what had just came out of Maxwell's mouth.

Maxwell nodded, clicking the roof of his mouth his tongue. "Yes, touché!"

"Well, I have to go and investigate that crash from earlier and then after that, I will continue my quest to slay the Monster Lord to bring peace to the land! For it is both hero's duty and such is the will of Ilias," Luka replied, bringing his sword back to its sheath.

"I see," Maxwell responded. _It appears that Luka is heading towards Anime plot #B-4: Kill the Big Bad dude… or dudette. Kid's probably gonna end up with a female sidekick by the next time we meet up. If that happens._ "I wish you luck on your quest, Oswell."

"Mggh…" Gaining a sour expression upon his face, Luka turned around and made his way towards the forest.

Now that Maxwell thought about, he hadn't heard or noticed Luka comment on his darker skin, despite the fact that this world's population was most likely majority white-skinned. _We coud learn quite a bit from this lad…_

 _Grumble~_

Maxwell's stomach reminded him that he hadn't consumed anything in the last 18 hours and that he was reaching dangerously low hunger levels. It was probably thanks to the adrenaline and the surreality of the recent events that he hadn't been to affected by this fact.

But complaining about the lack of food wasn't going to help anyone in this situation. After all, if _he_ the _actual_ protagonist died off so quickly, it would probably hurt his book cred and the end result of that would of course be the great weeping and crying of the 2000s.

So there Maxwell went, right back into the house he had stol- borrowed the chair from. Now that the threat of a fellow human being taken out had been eliminated, Maxwell now had the time to enter through the front door; like any respectful citizen would do.

To his right, there was just a standard stone stove accompanied by a couple drawers screwed together in a random pattern along the wall. The whole setup was quite abnormal as said drawers seemed to be bolted into the wall with pikes instead of the usual bolt setup he was used to seeing.

And above the stovetop, Maxwell spotted a shinning bright gold sword stabbed into a slit in the wall. Taking it into his hands, the man took an generic anime swordsman stance and swung it a few times. On the last swing, the blade flew off the hilt of the sword and wedged itself into the ceiling.

Looking back and forth between the hilt and the blade, Maxwell awkwardly placed the hilt on top of the stove. "Well, swords play never was my thing in the first place. Maybe I should stop shitting on Luka so much."

And to his left, there was an adequately small sized wooden table with a stone pot placed in the center of it. The table had wear and tear on it; most likely from long years of use by its owner and the fact that it was well… wood. Approaching the table he placed his palm against it to examine said table. "Well, fuck." The table obtained a hand print at the point of contact. Obviously, this was a low-end cheap dollar tree look-alike table. _Who the hell makes these things anyway? And what do they even use?_

But other than that, and the fact that the house doesn't seem the contain a bed or any reasonable sleeping quarters, the house appeared to be moderately above average for the current technology available to humans at the time.

And by 'above average', Maxwell meant that the house didn't smell, or have mud and random shit placed haphazardly placed around the residence. It seemed like his priorities have stemmed away from simple electricity, water, food and Wi-Fi.

"Now that I think about it, two of those things aren't exactly 'simple'…"

Maxwell didn't spend too much time dwelling on his logical fallacy and proceeded to rummage through the various cabinets in the room. While this would seem like pretty shifty behavior to anyone morally responsible, the man could justify this as being payment. _After all, as a fellow helper to a hero and a fighter of monsters, the least he could get was some hospitality._

"I call it the give n' take tax, courtesy of Maxwell n' Sons." The man commented while bringing up foodstuffs. With in the span of ten minutes Maxwell came up with four loaves of bread, 6 strips of bacons and a small canteen of water.

It wasn't the kind of meal Maxwell looking for, but robbe- err, beggars can't be choosers. Well they could, but starving to death would be a pretty shit way to die. Dragging himself away from those thoughts, the man suddenly turned so fast, he feared whiplash from the action. Something had caught his attention, and it was _shiny_.

Holding the shiny objects in his hands, Maxwell stared at it with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. "Now this is the end game." The objects were bright solid gold coins, near-identical to those shown in cartoon. Tallying them up, the man came up with a final count of twenty gold coins.

Now this was definitely ten times better then the crumbled dollar bills in his back pocket. They probably would be useless in the medieval look alike world.

And he had spent more than enough time looting, as the sound of generic villagers flooded his ears from a distance. Finding out what happened to those who were caught looting with his specific skin tone first hand was not on the top of Maxwell's priorities, so he made his departure quick and easy, also snatching the wooden chair as means of defense. _My safety is above all others._

"My house!" A generic sounding voice yelled out in the distance. "Those Ilias damned monsters must be hanged!" He spewed out in anger.

 _Man, I made monster to human relations that much worse!_ Maxwell could barely contain the giggled from within. "Time for me to spread my influence throughout the world, for a brand new era must be born… **The Maxwell Era** that is."


	3. The Forest is Fun

Maxwell now in the forest of the unknown, scratched his arm. To him, it always felt like there was some kind of bug whenever he went to a place in the wild. Whether it be the mountains, a valley or his own backyard, the bugs never ceased their non-existent attacks on their greatest enemy.

But that's enough about the bugs, let's get back to the main topic of the story: Man in forest.

At the moment, Maxwell was somewhat fine with this turn of events. After all, it had gotten him the bacon he had so much desired. Another up-note would've been the fact that he now had a weapon to ward off the evil spirits. _Now that I think about, chairs weren't known for their spiritual warfare..._

And seeing no forms of modern technology, he shooting the spirits away wasn't an option either. Not to mention it wasn't an ideal way to deal with them anyway.

However, Maxwell was more worried about finding some kind of town or settlement, preferably before the sun went down. Otherwise, he would most likely be forced to stay up. "And let me tell you, a sleep deprived me, is an unhappy me," he commented idly, his focusing his vision on the area around him. _And I will make sure the world will never have to face it. Or me._

As of now, Maxwell had been walking in this forest for about half an hour, give or take a few minutes. Partially due to pure boredom or the forest getting on his nerves, the man went for the shuffle, pulling out the dance moves, moon-walking his way down the path.

"Hello, human boy." The abruptness of the feminine voice quickly put a halt to Maxwell's current activities, shifting his attention to his distracter.

She had a Victorian style outfit, with a brownish-purple hat and dress. Her expression seemed very _dull_ , much like one would have with chronic depression and anxiety.

 _Now what should I do now?_ Maxwell ran over several ideas in his head, looking for a correct course of action. However, Maxwell was not known for his logical decisions. The man took a metaphorically leap of faith, slipping himself right into conversation.

"What up, woman? I just be in the hood and the like, y'know?" Maxwell did a 'cool' pose folding his arms over one another, while looking down at the monster girl. The man only gained a confused gesture in the form of a risen eyebrow. _Obviously, no one in this world would understand the references to my home boys._

Of course, at first glance the girl appeared to be a regular human with a funny hat. But then Maxwell took notice of the slime trail that seemed to lead from around the far off tree to her current position. And if that wasn't a red flag, he wouldn't know what one was!

The slimy interrupter moved unto the path, blocking the man from moving forward. "An unbaptized male. Your… looks and smell are unique, too." She paused to gaze over Maxwell's figure, quickly finking her tongue across her lips. "Haven't seen a human like you around. I wonder how you'll taste."

"Well I happen to not appreciate associating myself with racists," the man replied, raising a finger in affirmation.

"Are you sure?" The monster girl pouted, lifting her dress up slightly, revealing a massive mass of pink, slimy flesh..? "Wouldn't you like to be covered in my mucus~?" She cooed in a fake hurt tone.

 _What do you even call that?!_ Maxwell's right eye reflexively twitched. "Let us not get ourselves too far of ourselves. Steamy sex with pink nasal-like mucus isn't my sort of thing, if you get what I'm saying," he responded, clapping my hands together for a much-needed emphasis.

After all, it was his duty as the main character to keep this story on its current rating as long as possible.

"It seems that I'll have to use force to get you to join me," she reflected in a sorrowful tone. "And when I win, we'll be doing it all night lo- Ouch!" She was however interrupted, and was sent sliding back a few feet.

"Ma'am, I have the upmost respect for your decisions..." Maxwell began, brandishing his chair by one leg over his head. "..but in the presence of holiness, this is the upmost illegal!"

"Oww… do you really think a chair can stop me?" The monster girl seethed, holding her head with one hand. "Are you insane?"

"But do you think, _you_ can stop a human such as I?!" Maxwell responded, lowering his chair into a rhino ramming pose with the legs sticking forward. _Its time to play Zookeeper with this hoe, there be no 'gender-equality' to stop me here!_

"I will pave the road for the my future, onward!" And the man ran forward, screaming out the curses of a madman. However, he was forced to stop as his wooden chair began to erode and sizzle, much like a horribly gone wrong science project. "This is unacceptable!" Seething, he fell to the ground, smashing a fist into the ground in retaliation. _How come it always be me?! How come they just be so- Wrong, wrong **wrong**! It is obvious that this world discriminates against me, I must fight back!_

Rising up from the ground, his fists caked in mud, man let out a low growl while doing so.

Sneaking a quick peek at her features, Maxwell was met with an expression recognizable as haughtiness. "Ha ha ha! Foolish boy, you really were a fool to try and take out a slug with my corrosive skin!" With the Victorian outfit, the slug girl was practically the embodiment of olden, rich European females; uptight and equipped with an eye that could look down on all others.

It seems that she was quite _done_ with the playing phase.

"Now boy, why don't you surrender your body and semen to me!" The slug girl then rushed forward, well for a slug anyway. To Maxwell, was more like a slow walk than anything else.

Maxwell not seeing any other option, decided to regress back to classic warfare; getting gritty and letting the fists fly. "The past is now young girl!" He then outstretched his hand, feeling it connect with the soft, cool flesh that was the slug's face.

The slug girl, who was not expecting a counter attack was caught with the full impact of the attack. And from a human fist no less. She was sent sliding back, only her slug-like physiology protecting her from a face-plant.

Maxwell grinned devilishly as he clenched the sediment between his fingers even closer together. It had been a half-assed decision, but it was one that paid off well in the long run. Of course, slugs being weak to salt was no new idea as it had been a known fact for 100s of years. _But what most people don't know is that, dirt has tiny rocks in it and what do those tiny rocks produce? Salt._

Following this train of thought, the man was able to exploit the slug's weakness for this basic table element.

"You will pay for that, **human** ," the slug girl said, holding a hand up to her face. More specifically, the area of impact. When her hand was removed, a physical feature that one only recognize as a burn mark, showed a fist mark a few shades darker then the rest of her pale face.

Maxwell could hear a slight sizzling sound coming from her facial area. _Must be the sodium,_ He reasoned. Taking notice the girl's expression, Maxwell gave a knowing smile. "Now, now. It's not _my_ fault you got burned. _I_ was the victim. I was just responding to stimuli."

Now this seemingly simple statement infuriated the slug girl, causing her to let go of her head in a fit of rage. "You -!" The slug girl then slightly outstretched her lower body, attempting to swat aside the black-skinned man.

The man effortlessly side-stepped the attack, allowing for the tail(?) to harmlessly fly over his head. As it flew past, Maxwell took this opportunity to introduce the tail to Exhibit A: Muddy, sediment riddled hand. He grinned, "End game."

The reaction was near instantaneous.

A shrill scream was heard as the man's hand seemingly sunk into her flesh. "Ahhhhh!" Tears were brought to the slug's eyes, as a sensation not unlike slowly searing skin was produced at the epicenter of contact. Maxwell saw tears drop endlessly, the pain creating new batches as soon as they were spent.

Shifting into a more serious posture, and momentarily releasing her hand, the man decided to just let her go. "Meh, I thought something more exciting would've happened here, like an explosion or a slow, yet immediate disolvment of flesh," Maxwell said, frowning with disapointment.

A look of pure disgust momentarily flashed across her face as looked up at her assault- err... defender. However, that look was wiped off as quickly as it came as angering the same man who had nearly seared her tail(?) off wasn't a very smart self preservation tactic.

The man flexed his fingers, spreading the sediment between his fingers equally.

"Why are you looking at me as if I owe you something?" Maxwell waved a hand, sent sediment flying dangerously close to the slug girl. "I got nothing to do with you know, and you have nothing to do with now either. This is where our paths break apart, until we meet again... by chance that is."

The Outsider stood, ignored the hatred-filled glare sent on his back, and walked away, into the world known as dense vegetation.

===THE END IS NEAR===

In a distance that was measured by about 10 minutes of non-directional walking, the man had found himself a tree to call home for the day...or night. Things kinda got confusing sometimes. "Sweet, I always wanted to go camping!" He shouted, uncaring about the things that go romp in the night.

Then a realization suddenly dawned upon him. _I forgot my sleeping bag, my marshmallows and the group of generic self-inserts that will slowly be killed off as the night progresses._ "Meh, there's always yesteryear," he rationalized, internally grumbling at this sudden turn of events.

Against his own will and wishes, the man huddled a bunch of leaves together into a pile and laid upon them, ignoring the prickling of the tiny mismatched sticks and stones. He then took off his jacket and laid upon it, settling for staring at the starry night sky till sleep took its hold on him.

===HIDDEN INFO===

The human was falling out of the sky. No matter which way she tried to think about it, the thought of this was a bit off.

When she felt the sudden surge of energy she reacted quickly by swiftly sending a cupid to scout out the area. If it died scouting... It could be replaced and an army would be sent to deal with the threat. Cupids were quite the expandable creatures after all.

To her surprise (and relief that she wouldn't have to set up her armies) instead of Alice I and her crew of savages, against all odds and logic, a human came out of the portal instead, falling towards the ground at a speed that was only identifiable as 'lethal'.

This human looked different to most (if not all the humans) in this world. With that dark brown skin color, Ilias couldn't help but harbor a few dark thoughts at his appearance, as the human-like body could have just been hiding a monster or an alien-like creature from view.

But what happened next, only caused her suspicions to grow. When the male had hit the ground, she subtly flinched a bit.

 _Well, that is quite the unfortunate death,_ Ilias thought as she commanded the Cupid to move closer, just in case there was a monster hiding in a body. Expecting to see a gruesome display of blood, guts and bones, saying she was surprised would be an understatement.

How? How!

A human shouldn't have survived that fall, but this one did. And he was smiling about it all the while. She was livid. There was something of about him, which meant he was out of control, an unknown.

An **_anomaly_**.

And she liked having all the pawns in her pieces, as even the slightest interference could throw everything about the window.

Ilias commanded the cupid to move closer to the human. After all, it couldn't hurt to check what was going on his mind. It would surely give her some much needed information and details that would finalize her decision on whether to annihilate him or not.

All it took to read someone's mind was just a simple touch to the head. However, when the cupid was just about the touch the male, his head swirled around swiftly, as the sound of joints cracking could be heard.

The cupid nearly 'jumped' back in surprise when she first noticed this. _Did he see me?!_

This thought raced around in the cupid's mind as she debated just going and flying off in the opposite direction before rebuking that idea.

For one, her goddess would not stand for it and would deliver divine judgement upon her. And plus, he was just a lowly human, nothing to get too worked up about. They couldn't harm holy beings like her. So she made what would seem like a rational decision.

She touched the boy's head.

At first, nothing strange happened. It was just like touching the head of a normal human. But when she tried to incur the low-level mind reading spell all angels could do to a limit, the cupid realized that she had made a grave mistake.

There was a such thing as _unwanted_ information after all.

* * *

Ilias still in heaven, was annoyed with how long she was being made to wait to gain information on the unknown human. So she teleported herself to the general area of the portal's appearance and immediately she sensed something wrong. Flying quickly to the site, her eyes were set upon an _interesting_ discovery.

The cupid she had sent out earlier was struggling to take her hand of the human but it was to no avail. She couldn't move away, it was as if her hand was glued to his head.

With a nonchalant expression on his face, he responded with, "All you had to do was ask." And the human allowed her full access to the deepest reaches of his mind.

The cupid was forced to endure all of this, her mind on the brink of going mad when the mental attacks ceased. She was confused. Why did he stop? Did the holy magic actually have an effect on him?

The answer to these questions confused the cupid and changed her life from that point on. "Rouy ecnegilletni llahs esir! Own og redrosid gnoma ruoy sknar!" The man spoke in a language only known to few. He appeared to be doing something with his hands, the spinning air around him definately indicated something was amiss.

"Man, I always wanted to speak cryptic-like. Not for me though, I'll leave that to the professionals," she heard the man say before he walked off.

 _So language nor speech has nothing to do with his ability. Noted._

No notable change took place at first, but then the cupid's entire demeanor changed. Her posture straightened, being more akin to a military officer's. The eternal-seeming goofy look on her face vanished, as it was replaced with a seemingly bored expression.

 _Promestein._

The name of the scientific-orientated angel nearly left Ilias' mouth as she looked as the familiar demeanor. What did that human do? She didn't feel any magic being used but...

Looking back on the area, the goddess had realized that with her attention diverted, the boy wasted no time in clearing the area.

"What do you require of me, dear goddess?" But the cupid, now more work-orientated and no-longer an angel of lust, stood in front of Ilias, waiting for orders to be received. _Her magic power seems to have increase quite a bit and now I have one less ignorant follower._

Maybe letting that boy live wouldn't be such a mishap. After all, if she played her cards right, "All will fall right into my **hands**." And on the off-chance that he was a problem?

A life of eternal servitude to Ilias awaited him.

The light goddess finished the end of her thought verbally, a dark grin making way unto her face as she looked down at the expressionless cupid.


	4. Escape, Robbery, Escape

"Woozah!" The Outsider woke up with a strange cry in an attempt to get his bearings together, seeing as he had just woken up moments earlier. His eyelids flickered open, allowing him to see this new world around him and maybe also enjoy the rising sun.

Or not.

When Maxwell opened his eyes fully, he noticed that he wasn't inside his 'pile of crap', as he dubbed it. It was dark. The Outsider could also feel himself moving up and down, making him think of rapid river canoeing.

 _At least I'm not claustrophobic,_ he thought to himself.

However, he shook his head before he could get too invested in that train of thought. "Never again." The canoeing trip went rather bad, but Maxwell had more important things to be focused on.

Like the fact that he was out of his current supply of bacon. Taking in the fact that he was in a place unknown to him and was without food, he did the one thing any rational person in his current situation would do.

He knocked on the wooden carriage, withh quite a bit of force. Repeatedly.

Of course, this action was bound to make some noise. And whenever you have noise, you're going to have some annoyed individuals.

Namely, the ones who were currently holding Maxwell in a box.

"Quiet it up, damn human!" A rough-sounding feminine voice barked out from the outside of the box, which was also accompanied with a hit to the side.

Then a different, yet still feminine voice gave a snark side-comment in a smooth, silky sounding voice. "Well at least stay quiet until we arrive at our destination~" Smacking sounds could be heard as the female licked her lips together. "Then we can have some fun, hehehe~!"

Maxwell wasn't having any of it, though. _They must be taking me to their hideout... and judging from the theme this world has, it'll be a fruit covered orgy consisting of me and a bunch of hot monster babes._ The Outsider stroked his chin. _Actually, this doesn't sound too ba- Wait! I just gotta confirm one thing..._ "Ahem, females of unknown race and type? I have a very important question for it is of the upmost importance of important questions."

"Sure...?" The rough voice responded or was it questioned. It was obvious that she was confused by the way and matter in which The Outsider had stated his question.

"Am I going to be a sex slave cause if so... well, I have things to do." Maxwell stood up and began to pace in a small circle in the little carriage he was in. "And those things do not include going to wherever you guys are taking me. Just not me."

One of the females laughed haughtily. "You have things to do? I don't know where you're from, but from here on out, you're going to have a _lot_ of things to do. Up until the minute of your death."

Her friend joined in, letting out a little laugh of her own. "And such a unique looking one too. We'll put you and your body to good use." The sound of a carriage being thumped by various rocks and twigs were accompanied by the laughter of both females.

"You know, I ought to begin talking about me escap-" And before he could go into a tangent he was interrupted by a kick to the side of the carriage which caused the poor male to tumble forwards, to which he had to stick out his arms to not hit the wall in front of him. "That wasn't very nice."

"Zip it, before we zip you."

 _Oh yea? How about if I wanna get zipped, what would you do then?_ Maxwell twindled his thumbs before speaking again. "I'll tell you how I'm going to escape from this circus outfit. No, I'll just show you instead. I'll show you the whole premire grand opening."

"Yea, sure. Whatever," came the dismissive reply. "It's not like you are capable of escaping this place anyway. You are _only_ human."

Without warning, uneven taps began to pummel the sides of the carriage, creating obnoxious thumping noises. But those didn't mean much, since was not going to be hands for this. The Outsider raised a foot, then sent it forward, activated his ability right when was about to touch the walls.

The ones in front of the carriage didn't move; infact, thay gloated him on, giggling while doing so.

There was a crack of wood, an unnatural bending of the structure. The carriage suddenly blew apart, pieces of wood flew in every direction. However, the force of the blow sent the rest of the carriage that was intact, rishing forward, at a far faster speed than before.

Both of the captors- which Maxwell could now see were harpies -had caught pieces of wood that were flying at high speeds, in the face, knocking them both out instantly.

 _Good, would've been a pain if I had to deal with that crap myself._ The Outsider laughed at their misfortune. He waited for the carriage to slow down, then hopped out of the newly created hole, tucked in his legs and rolled to disperse the energy of the fall.

The carriage crashed into a tree, shattered on impact, the rest of its structure resting around said tree.

* * *

Maxwell hunched over a log, attempted to make the sky and the ground switch places in his perception. His power unfortunately didn't come with immunity to dizziness, which would've been a nice secondary power for sure.

 _Ok, so I'm out of the carriage, still have my money, captors beaten up unintentionally, and I am still alice. Everything is fine._ Maxwell's thoughts stopped as his stomach once again reminds him of his scarcity of food.

"Well..." he started, clapping his hands together. "I need to get the food, and good thing I got that gold from the guy earlier." The Outsider pulled out a bag of about 20 gold pieces from behind his back.

Maxwell turned to face the direction of where his captors had fallen. "I hope they have money. Good for me, not so much for them." And with that philosophy in mind, he backtracked the trail of destruction in search for gold.

...

"Damn! I sure did a number on the environment!" 20 minutes later, Maxwell was 35 gold pieces richer. Of course, all this gold was legally obtained, as he had taken that 'law of the land' thing to heart. "My luck holds no bounds."

And so, after realizing that he had been standing on a dirt path all this time, The Outsier decided it was time for him to move on. After all, he couldn't spend his newfound wealth away from civilization. He whistled an unknown tune as he walked, putting a stride in his step.

* * *

Iliasburg was a pretty lively town just about 30 minutes ago. With kids frolicking in the streets, friendly townspeople greeting each other and others going of to do their jobs, it was just like any other day in the town. An average town with a pretty redundant name.

And then _she_ arrived.

The town became near-barren, with mothers ushering youngsters indoors and 'heroes and guardsmen' rushing to deal with the threat.

But it was to no avail.

With a blade wielded as if it were a feather and intensity as hot as flames, the red-haired dragonkin took out the guards who were attempting to dispatch her. But to the **Swordswoman of Fire,** these men were holding nothing but toothpicks. Trying to compare her skill to the guards' skill would be like comparing an ant to a human.

The gap was massive.

Not even bothering to use any techniques, the dragonkin kept her sword ablaze, while using the wind to swiftly cut her way through the muck of generic guards by batting them aside. Since her philosophy wouldn't allow her to bully the weak, she merely knocked them out unconscious, letting them lay down in their shame as they blacked out.

She stabbed her sword into the ground.

"What a disappointment... I expected to find _strong_ heroes, worthy opponents only to be faced with this?!" The dragonkin yelled out, exasperated. _It seems that there are only fake heroes in this town. **Weaklings**. _The swordswoman then unconsciously smirked, catching sight of some guards struggling to get up. _But it seems that some of them have a fighting spirit._ The dragonkin reached for her sword and took it out from the ground.

* * *

"It's gotta be my lucky day!" When Maxwell had first seen the barren, human-less townscape, did he rush to go find the perpetrator, like any rightful human would do? **No.** Did he go and run away in fear and terror instead? **No.**

Maxwell took neither of the options any sane, law-abiding individual would take. He took, what he would call, an _opportunity._ As for why the bank is cold, dark and devoid of any gold coins? And as for the temple's valuable possessions? On the upside, at least we know why Maxwell was calling this his lucky day!

 _I knew I'd someday strike gold! Never knew it would literally be universes away though!_ The internally monologued as he ran through the town, pushing a wheelbarrow full of bright-yellow colored objects inside. He had hit the literal jackpot. No more hunting for gold, no more finding false-gold and no more pawn shops. "It's all mine, mine! I am free from all the hard pains of work! No more slaving away for some random guy I'll never meet, I'm my own boss now! Hahaha!" Maxwell's insane laugh and comments prompted the townspeople to stay inside their house for a longer amount of time.

After all, if they were inside, they couldn't be harmed by that vile beast.

Of course, The Outsider wasn't too bothered by it. A little offended, sure, but at least there weren't any goodies trying to stop him.

"You... _ **you fiend**_!"

 _Oh, here comes a goodie,_ Maxwell thought internally as a young-looking man in chainmail armor stood tight in his way. "Whadda want, son?!" The male yelled out, digging his feet into the ground as to stop 'his' wheelbarrow from moving.

"H-How _**dare**_ you take advantage of this situation!" He practically spat out, sending spit flying unto the ground. "These are _your_ men too, aren't they? And I demand that you return that gold to its rightful place."

A clang of metal, followed by a familiar yell was heard to the far right of the two.

"Uhh, I think not." Maxwell responded, furrowing his brows slightly. He was finally feeling the Midas touch, and he wasn't ready to lose it just yet. "How about we talk about this issue at a later date. Like the date known as _never,_ for example."

"Grrr..." The man in chainmail began grunting in anger, as he reached for the sword on his waist. "If do not help your fellow humans, I shall have to treat you as a monster! With your loo- Aoh!"

Suddenly the man was knocked aside when a certain purple-haired man- as strange as it sounded -was sent flying into him and knocked him into the wall nearby, causing the young man to go unconscious.

The purple-haired man groaned, scratching his head softly while attempting to regain his fallen sword. "D- Damn it! I can not go down this easily! Even though I'm still a novice, I **must** protect this town!" A brave expression was etched upon his face as he once more struggled to stand.

Maxwell turned to him, and a grin overtook his previous expression of fake-contempt. "Hey there, Oswell! Fancy meeting you here, huh?" Maxwell also pointed his fingers in a 'gun-shape' towards Luka.

Luka's previous charisma was apparently washed away, as a look between disgust, annoyance and cheerfulness seemed to arise, before he brushed it off. "Oh, it's you..." He had finally managed to get up without stumbling. "Do you see what's happening?"

"You'd have to be blind not to see..."

"Exactly!" Generic anime protagonist 1867 exclaimed. "This is my true calling, and as a hero, I just can't ignore all these people in dange- ptew!" And like the man before him, Luka was set crumbling to the ground with no noticeable movements, aside from an occasional eye twitching.

Feeling the wind blow from behind, Maxwell noticed that a shadow had began towering over him.

"You haven't left yet, man? I thought I told you to leave."

Turning around slowly, the insane individual came face-to-face with one related to a creature seen in myths for thousands of years.

A _dragon_. Or at the very least a relative of one.

This would have been a once-in-a-lifetime encounter for those on 'Regular Earth'. Most would have a hard to comprehending their own thoughts and others might piss themselves at the sheer power one of her kind was sure to hold.

But Maxwell just fully turned around with a nonchalant expression on his face as if nothing was strange was happening. He then gazed into the dragon-kin's yellow-slitted eyes and uttered a string of words." Hello pal, how would you like to hand me over all your fundings!" He then made a 'give me' motion with his hands, seemingly ignoring the sword in her hands. "Or get the hell outta my way.

"Kid, do you know who you're talking to..." The dragon-kin snarled, obviously upset. Her grip on the sword tightened, the blade ready to be used at a moment's notice.

 _Man, I wonder why she's so mad, not like I killed her mom or ate her dog._ "Yeah, I do. You're the person who is blocking my path. So move it buster, I got like eight kids to feed," Maxwell lied, beginning to pull his loot out of the town.

His loot was a wheelbarrow, filled with gold. But there wasn't merely gold in the wheelbarrow, but also golden carvings of Ilias and other valuable temple possessions, that were now in his hands. Maxwell didn't even bat an eye at those who had fallen except for Luka, since he was the 'generic no-bad goody two-shoes' protagonist. The others were... practically wallpapers to him.

"Y'know..." Maxwell began as he pulled himself away, attracted Granberia's attention. "Why do you even have a sword? I mean you're a dragon, right?" _I'm pretty sure, Hero have sword and Dragon have fire. Shit ain't adding up!_

"A dragon _swordswoman."_ The dragon-kin corrected him. "I'm Granberia, one of the four heavenly knig-"

However, like many people before her, she was interrupted by one of Maxwell's incomprehensible statements. "Oh man, that sounds like the big bad," he responded in a bored tone. With those words he had gotten exactly what he needed. She was one of the higher level bosses that Luka would face in the future.

Granberia frowned as she met The Outsider's eyes. They were smiling. " _Kid_ , let me advise you that if you play with fire you _will_ get burned," she sneered back.

Maxwell frowned. He was not a kid, though he could admit he had his bouts of child-like playfulness. The child phase of his life had ended years ago, and with good reason. "Look _woman_ , I am no kid. In fact, I will show you a real bo-"

"Demon Decapitation!" Without elerting anyone of his presence, Luka had gotten behind Granberia and used the force of gravity to multiply his power, aiming his sword at her neck. "I got you now, drag- Wha?"

Without bothering to turn around, Granberia reached behind her back, pulling the sword and Luka along with it forward unto the ground once more.

Dust flew into the air, covered the area around Luka.

"You know of a monster technique." She seemed intrigued as she lazily glanced at the slowly rising boy. "From what I've seen so far, you are quick on your feet but you don't have the ingenuity to come up with something like this. Now man tell me, _who_ taught you this technique?"

"W-Why should I tell you?" Luka replied, held his chest as he attempted to keep his composure together.

"Because..." Granberia began, smiling slightly, "If that person can teach you monster techniques, they must be an interesting opponent to face."

Luka's face took on a vareity of expressions before settling on one: Blind determination. "I won't tell you!"

Maxwell slightly facepalmed in the background. _Nice one. That's sure to get the hero luck machine rolling._

"Is that so. Well, I don't like using my sword on the weak..." The dragon swordswoman lifted up her sword without ease, before bringing it down towards Luka's neck.

 _WHAM!_

A certain wooden wheelbarrow flew into the dragon-kin's arm, causing her aim waver and so the sword stabbed the ground beside Luka. The after shatter of wood bounced harmlessly off the dragon-kin's scales.

She then stared at Maxwell. "It seems that you are the master if you're willing to give up your money to save him."

The Outsider man stuck out his hands and shook his head. "No, no, no. It was the IRS." _Honestly, I just think someone stole the money off me when I wasn't looking. But where's the differance?_

"IRS?" The foreign word was spoken in her mouth.

"Unfortunately," Maxwell responded, he let a hand drop into one of his pockets. "The crazy bastards never seem to forget about my numerous debts. I guess even the U.S. can move across dimensions when given the right motivations."

"Enough talk from you, man. It's time I removed you and that 'hero' from the picture."

"But I'm just your everyday thief- I mean poor merchant!" A twisted-like pressure began to ooze around Maxwell's hand: The tell-tale feel of his power in action. The one and only trump card he had up his sleeve.

Granberia rushed towards him, sword raise... Only to jump back in mid-stride, much to the relief of The Outsider.

 _Phew,_ thought Maxwell, sweat running down his brow. _Good thing I just don't get to test how effective this would've been. I don't wish to see this hand chopped off, it's my favorite one!_

"But it's no matter! With this next attack holding the power of fire, even your ashes won't remain to be a reminder of you!" The dragon swordswoman rose her sword but was interrupted by a voice that froze her in her tracks.

"...Shit," He deadpanned. Sweat ran down his face. "Now this is the bad end to end all bad ends."

"Granberia." A strong, commanding voice called out from above. " _What do you think you're **doing** here?_"

* * *

DO YA PREFER 3RD OF 1ST PERSON

PLEASE PUT IN THE COMMENT

THIS WHOLE 3RD PERSON THING TOOK A LOT OUTTA ME SO FAVORITE... **OR ELSE.**

 **Markiplier E: Add a suggestion for an apprentice of his and I'll try to add it into the story. In fact, all of you can give me an OC or a character from the story and give me ideas for a partner(s). And i'll do a drawing on the idea.**

 **You can PM me or put idea in the comment section.**

 **Yoyoyo! I added a poll on my profile, check it!**


	5. THE LONG AWAITED 5TH CHAPTER

"If you idiots manage to destroy more of the city, do you know what's going to happen to my Ama-Ama Dango? I'm not going to be able eat it, and that would make me quite mad. In fact," The disguised lamia turned her gaze on the dragon swords-user, and her eyes glowed brightly. " **Granberia.** What do you _think_ you're doing here?"

Granberia had a petrified expression on her face, as if she were in front of a being leagues above her. The dragon-kin then took a step back and got down on one knee. "Alice, my lord..."

"Who ordered you to do such a thing?" Alice questioned, power resonating through her voice.

Granberia stared at her, not making complete eye contact with Alice. "I took it upon myself to remove these annoying heroes, before they can attack any monsters-"

"Go away, you annoyance," Alice interjected, pointed a finger in the direction away from the city.

"But if I leave know, more of these worthles- I mean 'strong heroes' will emerge. There is also something telling me that I shouldn't let that strange man live." Her gaze turned towards The Outsider and this did not go unnoticed by Alice who followed Granbria's gaze.

"God damn nabbit! They actually stole the gold, I stole fair and square." While Maxwell was dissapointed that he had lost his entire gold supply, he had to give the robber a begruding respect. They were of a way higher tier than he was. Many years of training in the craft of theivery awaited him in the future.

"I think you should fix that feeling. I doubt he could do any lasting damage with that mindset of his." Alice jumped down from the roof, landing with a thud. "Now, I need you to leave so I can have my Ama-ama Dango in piece. Without the near-destruction of a city to compensate."

"But if you wanted something like that, why didn't you let me take over the city first?" The Swordswoman of fire replied.

Alice huffed, crossed her arms in response. "Well, how am I supposed to sightseeing in a damaged city? It would just ruin the taste of the sweets in my mouth."

"I have an idea," The Outsider interjected, gaining the attention of both of the females. He then took a step forward while raising his right fist to the sky. "How about we just use the great magic of time to undo all of this chaos. Like, all the way back to the start of creation."

"Shut it, you," Granberia responded.

"Worth a try."

"Then why aren't you gone yet? Is this how you show respect to me, your lord?" The disguised lamia's patience seemed to be diminishing.

"Of course, my lord." And sparring a quick look towards both Maxwell and Luka, she vanished though the use of some kind of magic.

When Granberia disapeered, Alice turned around, wheeling in on The Outsider. "Who are you?" She asked, pointing a finger in his direction

"Maxwell," Maxwell answered. He then put an arm around Luka (who had just gotten up), grinning wildly while doing so. "And this is my friend, Oswell." _My bestest and greatest friend of course!_

"Ugh," Luka replied, lightly pushing Maxwell away. "She already knows who I am. Nice going with Granberia, though. You really saved me from a beat down."

"Fool. Is that all you have to say to me?" Alice huffed, as she completely looked in the opposite direction.

Maxwell clapped his hands together. "Well, I have to sa-"

"They did it!" And for once Maxwell was cut off by an unknown voice, from an unknown source.

 _Filthy peasants, do you think you can cut **me**? The great cutter off so easily?! _He thought this internally, with his widened smile not reflecting his true intentions. But before he could go on a 'one-man rampage' on the town, Maxwell bit his tongue, the shock from the pain causing him to erase his murderous thoughts for the moment.

The moment Granberia had teleported away, the townspeople felt as if a great pressure had been lifted from their backs. This was probably a side-effect from the insane amount of power one of the Heavenly Knights would hold. This is known as a predator-prey relationship or for a more scientific term; predation. When the predator (Granberia) left the area, the 'prey' (villagers) were able to come out without fear of getting lynched.

"I just can't believe it!" A man cautiously poked his head out from a wooden barrel used for carrying liquids. He looked around before shouting, "Those 3 youngins actually drove the beast away!"

And with this cry, villagers began running out of their homes, a crowd quickly forming around Luka, Maxwell and Alice. Luka acted surprised, obviously he was both, caught off-guard and not used to the crowd's sudden formation. The disguised lamia showed no visible reaction to the flock of people.

Maxwell thought that this was the perfect time to introduce his 'I do this, you give me' law unto the people. A case of striking when the iron's hot, or when the feelings are most malleable in this case. "Oi, fellow crowdspeople," The Outsider announced as he waved his hands up, gaining the attention of the local crowd.

"Today, I have saved you." He then took notice of Luka, and wrapped an arm around him. "No, _we_ saved you. But being a humble man, I- I mean we will request just one thing from you."

"What are you doing?!" Luka exclaimed, as he shifted up an eyebrow.

An unfitting look of annoyance flashed over Maxwell's features. "Oh hush, you." The man then elbowed Luka in the ribs to make sure he wouldn't speak up for the current moment. _Honestly, people need to stop questioning my intelligence. I got a C in Honors math when I used to go to school! I'm pretty sure that's good enough!_

"Well, what do you request to have?" One of the villagers questioned, his voice filled with reasonable suspicion.

Maxwell took a pose that resembled a great philosopher stroking his beard while coming up with new scientific discoveries. This action as 'noble' as it, was however confused both Luka and Alice, mainly due to the fact that Maxwell, in fact, didn't possess a beard of any kind. "Would you be so kind to do donate m- I mean _us_ a few gold coins. Preferably a few hundred, since we are low on funds."

"But he tried to stea-" The source of the voice was quieted out as quickly as it began speaking.

"Did you hear something?" Luka asked as he tried to locate the source of the voice. He didn't find it.

Maxwell shook his head sideways. His friends on earth always said he had pretty good aim with a thumb flick. He dropped the remaining pebbles on the ground beside him.

"So gold? We can at the very least repay you with that, right?" A middle aged man answered as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a medium-sized pouch that sagged from the many gold coins that were contained within it. He then proceeded to toss the brown bag towards Maxwell, who after fumbling a bit, managed to catch them. "This may not be much, but it's my thanks for you three young fellows protecting this town," he spoke in a calm, yet powerful voice.

The Outsider inspected the bag for a bit before yelling out an, "Oh, yeah!" He then proceeded to do the dance, all of human civilizat- no, what _all_ life has been waiting for; the Fortnite default dance. _Now this is the peak of thousands of years of evolution..._

Entranced by the rhythmic clap of his hands and the careful shuffles of his feet, the crowd watched in almost serene silence as Maxwell executed his movements. Of course, there was also background music playing from an unknown source and location, as Maxwell wasn't a fan of quiet dances.

When he had completed the final shuffle in his dance, the group surrounding Maxwell cheered and laughed in amusement. After a couple of more 'thank-you's- directed towards Luka and Alice, the mob finally dispersed into each of their own subsections, moving off to rebuild the town that was known as their home.

Alice pointed at a random person in the slowly dispersing crowd. "Hey you there, Citizen A! I need to ask you something."

"Citizen A?!" The man turned around with an unamused expression on his face. "Ma'am, how there you call me anything less than my magnificent name, Cervantes?!" The newly named 'Cervantes' finished his response with a loud huff.

"Where is the Sutherland Inn, Citizen A?" Alice either didn't hear them man, or ignore him completely, as she had once again referenced him as 'Citizen A'.

"If it will make you leave me alone, it is west from here. The building is also incredibly old, so you shouldn't miss it."

"Perfect. Now we will go to our lodging." Alice grabbed Luka's hand and dragged him in the direction of the Inn.

"Oi, uh um... Alice?" Luka mumbled incoherent, as he was being dragged away by the disguised lamia.

Maxwell laughed.

 _Loudly._

 _"..."_

Well, he did laugh until he remembered that he had just practically got thrown off to the side, like a worn out toy. "Oi, blud! Wait up, mates!" He yelled in an Australian accent, as he ran after the pair.

* * *

"Let's see the cost... two million, four hundred gold per person!?" Luka shouted out in surprise and distress, with widening eyes.

"Man, that's a lot gold coins. Not sure if we can afford it anyway." Maxwell stared at the pouch in his hands. "Looks like we'll be sleeping on the streets."

Luka searched through his bags. "We only have enough to stay here eighteen seconds!" He cried out in a distraught tone.

 _Two million, four hundred gold? Well, that suspiciously sounds like the amount I took out earlier... and got stolen from myself._ Maxwell thought to himself. "So the streets it is. I can go find us good spot to rest. Probably a nice alleyway out there, somewhere."

"Well, if I had known that, maybe I would have let Granberia take over the city." Alice commented, crossing her arms together in frustration.

"Alice..." Luka began, drawing out her name.

With the way Luka was, Maxwell suspected he wasn't on board with her idea. Then again, he had to side with Alice on her views; if the city had been overtake, it would make robbing all the locals a much easier task.

"Excuse me can you step aside?" A middle aged man walked by Maxwell, slightly pushing him aside as he walked up to the reception desk. "Can I get one of the rooms? And on a hero's discount, of course."

Maxwell's left eye twitched as he got nudged aside.

"What the hell do you mean, a hero's discount?!" The owner yelled, her face contorting into one of disgust. "What kind of hero, hides like a coward in a _goddamned_ barrel?!"

"Oh... uh, so you saw that?" He said nervously. "Well, I am baptized so you can't deny me..." He tried to rationalize.

"You don't deserve to call yourself a hero! Get out!" The owner screamed at him.

And the 'hero' was scared off, brushing Maxwell aside again, as he made his way to the exit.

Well, let's just say, he didn't quite make it there.

"Oi bruv, your clapped, mate."

When the man was about to leave his line of sight, Maxwell reached over and placed his right hand on the man's left shoulder. Now Maxwell was a pretty swell guy (most of the time, anyway), but even he has his pet peeves. Namely; being pushed around as it reminded him of smelly, crowded lunchrooms. So how did he retaliate against this man?

Before Luka's, Alice's and the Owner's eyes, Maxwell gave the fake hero a hearty shove on the back, sending him stumbling out the door. He ignored the cry of pain that came from his face hitting the ground. Clapping his hands, The Outsider hopped twice before clicking his tongue and pointing his fingers at the trio.

"Why don't you three stay here for the night?" The Inn Owner completely ignored the fact that Maxwell had just thrown the 'fake hero' out of the building.

"Er... we don't have enough money," Luka explained.

The owner waved him off. "Don't worry about it, I'll give you guys the hero rate, 2 gold per person. And I'll just bill the other seven million, one hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety four gold to the Ilias temple."

The thought went through him like a strong current of electricity.

 _I don't think the temple has enough to pay even a fraction of that. Especially since... well, the money has gone to worser places by now,_ Maxwell thought. But he kept this information to himself, as revealing that someone robbed him when he was stealing monwy from the biggest religion around, would most likwly wnd up in flames and pitchforks. Or he could just deflect everything unto the other guy.

"But I'm not a baptized hero..."

"Oh nonsense!" The old lady waved him, chuckling a bit. "You guys saved this town, so I consider you a hero. Baptize or unbaptized."

"Ahh~" Luka's features brightened up while Alice began to drag him to their room.

Maxwell walked up to the front desk with a finger pointed up in question. "Can I ask you a question..?"

* * *

Ten minutes later Maxwell was depressed. As surprising as it sounded, giant dinosaur laser parties were _not_ permitted. Something about it being too dangerous for the townspeople.

"And what is dangerous about a Dinosaur laser party?!" Maxwell yelled out, lying down in the middle of his bed.

Alice looked up from her Ama-ama dango and gave The Outsider a questioning look. "While I admit I may not know much about these "Dinosaurs" that you speak of, the laser would definitely decimate the townspeople."

"B- But!" Maxwell spluttered, looking around for a way to prove his point. He finally settled on using Oswell for his means. "Oi Oswell, you agree with me don't ya?!"

"..."

An awkward silence settled over the area as Alice transformed into her human form to order some more sweets.

"Take a hike," Luka finally responded.

Maxwell spun around rapidly until he was sure to get all the 'richness' off him. "Y'know what? Fine, I'm gonna take a hike!" _And I never did feel comfortable living in fancy places like this..._

"It was a figure of speech..."

But it was too late as by that Maxwell was already out of the Inn and out of his hearing range.

* * *

 **Chapter finished: End.**

 **P.S.: Nice explaination ezequeil32!**


	6. An Unfortunate Deal

"Man, that was great..!" Maxwell stretched his limbs towards the sky, smacking his lips to get rid of that "backwater" taste. Fortunately, he was able to find residence in these dark times. What was unfortunate, was the one who took him in.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," a feminine voice responded. It was a lamia, yet unlike any lamia Maxwell had seen before. Her upper body was that of a snake, while her lower part was that of a human's.

 _A rather unfortunate lamia..._ The black-skinned man thought as he looked over her features. "So, that Luka fellow..."

The lamia cut Maxwell off before he could continue. "I know right! He's just so dreamy and so strong! I just know we were destined to meet. He is going to do great things in the future!" The lamia concluded, her pupils bulging in a heart-like shape.

 _Destiny?! More like a bland, planned out story- A story that I plan to overthrow. Somehow. Maybe. Frick, this ain't my thing._

Maxwell grinned as an idea forced its way into his head. He leaned back into a chair. "But why would he go for **you** , when he already has that _lamia_ by his side?"

The unfortunate lamia gritted her teeth in anger, ignoring the fact that she had fangs.

Maxwell sat still, unfazed. Bringing out one's emotions was the perfect way to make things go in favor. Other than force, that is.

The lamia then suddenly ceased her aggressive approach, deciding to go for the pity route instead. "Oh woe is me, for my love will not be reciprocated. Is it too much for me a discriminated being to have love in my life?" Salty tears dampened the wooden floor.

"Quit the bullshit." The tears ceased as quickly as it came. "We both know that if you really were discriminated, your residence would not be IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS FLIPPIN' TOWN!"

"..." The lamia didn't respond, just staring at the man.

 _And as it stands now this story is heading towards its pre-determined route. But this is where the fun begins._ "Honestly, as you are now, you don't stand a chance to Alice. But I can help you-"

"Really?! So how are you going to help- You going to use your connections, influence the wri-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Stop right there! You are crossing a very thin line that could determine _my_ future fate. And yours, maybe." Maxwell darted his eyes left and right looking for any evidence of trans-dimensional beings. Coming up with nothing, he sighed in relief.

Having chats with the author was just off-putting, even for him.

"So where was I- Yes, I will aid you, and then you can pay me back by SaCrIFiCiNg...yOu...Me...bAd...fUtUrE," Maxwell concluded, sliding out his chair. _I really need a soft plushy couch to sooth my ass, or it gonna go flat._

"Excuse me, but what was that last part?" The lamia inquired as Maxwell shifted drawers behind her.

"N-Nothing. Just a slip of the good ol' tongue, ya know?" Maxwell cheekily replied, scratching a non-existent itch behind his head. "Us diferentes, gotta look after each other! He he..."

Maxwell just hoped that his tone hadn't changed too many times in that dialogue. It was hard to keep up with your own bullshit sometimes.

"Hmm, hmm." The lamia somehow maintained an unsure expression on her face with her snake face. "But I'm not so sure about this..."

"Ha! I wouldn't worry about that!" Maxwell finally closed a drawer, using a finger to conceal an object behind his wrist. "I'm as harmless as a snug bug in a bug rug. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't even know your name."

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Amira." The newly-named Amira slowly turned her head before being stopped cold upon seeing the object in Maxwell's possession.

A simple butter knife.

"Call me, Paul Richmand. From Family Guy and Friends." The man plunged the knife into her head, without a hint of remorse. Not even a millisecond of hesitation. "...and be reborn, my _Princess_."

The black-skinned male grinned as he saw the look of 'betrayal' plastered on her face as she fell to the ground with a thud. A dark-green substance flowed from the epicenter of the wound, staining Amira's face.

Now things were just fine for the moment. Sure the lamia might hate him for the next few hours but a quick look at a mirror would fix things. Maxwell washed off the butter knife and placed it back in its drawer.

 _Now it would be wise to get the frick outta here. At least before any bothersome peeps arrive._

That and angel sitting in the corner was really annoying. All glow-like and with the magick shit. And having it see him kill a person probably wasn't a good combination anyway. But wouldn't this get him on the 'nice' list?

He did 'kill' a monster, after all.

 _Kill is too harsh. More like I re-made her._ Maxwell stepped over the fallen body, careful to make sure that he accidentally didn't track any blood. Allowing himself to be tracked to this location just would be annoying.

Complete body transformations were definitely a beacon of attention. A beacon that should he should stay clear of.

And so the black-skinned boy made his way out the door, ready to take on the ruthlessness the world possess.

But not before taking any gold the lamia had at hand. Ignoring the green smoking rising out from the windows was only the second trial in this endeavor.

* * *

 **THIS MAN IS NOT DEAD**

 **Winter break was hype though.**

 **There i think this is sufficiant.**


	7. Quests

**Probably going to go and re-write/edit some of my previous chapters, shortly after you read this.**

 **If I am not uploading chapters, it's probably because I'm editing my current chapters. (Or at least, this is my excuse for now).**

 **And if I'm not there, I'm probably dead, eating food...**

 **Or really lazy.**

* * *

Maxwell yawned as he dragged himself through the mostly empty dirt plains. Apparently, sleeping for thirteen hours straight wasn't as helpful as it seemed to be. To say he was disappointed would be a understatement.

 _Grrr..._

"Man, I should have taken some food before I left," the black-skinned man muttered to himself, holding his stomach in an effort to calm it down. The added fact that Maxwell had expended his powers earlier wasn't helping matters.

 _Grrrrrr..._

Obviously, altering one's appearance took quite a bit of power for it to be a permanent fix. And that wasn't really what his ability was meant to do. Fixing particular conditions, that is.

But Maxwell didn't have time to be worrying about small matters like those. He had to get some kind of nutrition and fast. Or else, he would probably have to resort to eating his own arm; which he was very _attached_ by the way. And it would be painful, that too.

Now this left only one reasonable option left; giving up his body to Akir- No, bad idea. It was just as _disgusting_ as he was. Dealing with it right now would only implicate matters. But this was a man who was used to eating three bowls of cereal in one sitting. Sooner or later, drastic measures, no matter how _revolving_ they were would have to be taken.

 _GrRrRrRrRr...!_

Maxwell squeezed his stomach even closer to his body. In his current state, if his body began rumbling again, he wouldn't have any more "squeezes" left! And that would be a bad end. And if a monster girl found him that would be the _big bad_.

"SuGaR..."

* * *

After what seemed like centuries of meaningless walking, Maxwell finally reached an area that resembled civilization. A few rooftop houses scattered here and there. Strange how people built their houses up in the trees. The majority of people here didn't really strike Maxwell as rock-climbers, to say the least. But what mattered was not the outward appearance, but what was on the inside.

Whether it be food, money or any valuables. Mainly food, though.

"Time to go back to primal routes," Maxwell commented as he approached one of the many trees in the area. Sometimes parkour did come in handy, even if people were routinely trying to get you on some kind of suicide watch-list.

Moving around the tree, he felt around for a ledge; something to push himself up against. Or maybe he could take the dodgy looking rope ladder beside it. _Now this is the break I deserve._ Giving the rope ladder an experimental tug, the man frowned as it all came tumbling down like jenga blocks.

"So much for small breaks in life…" Maxwell began to slowly scale the tree, much like his ancestors would have done thousands of years ago. Swatting away a few annoying bugs, he made his way up to the living quarters.

The black-skinned man pulled himself up with a mighty wheeze, relieved that food was only a quick hop and a step away. Maxwell dragged himself over to the door, taking in the lack of knobs on them. _Low security, much?_ He then pushed the doors open, allowing them to swing much like the ones at a 24 hour convenience store.

Taking in a deep breath, Maxwell immediately recoil as scents assaulted his nose. _Freakin' smells like nature up in this shit. What is this, vegans 2?_ The smell of dirt tree sap and bark lingered strongly in the air, despite him being inside the structure. "Nature fanatics. If all they have are twigs and berries, I'm gonna burn this shit down."

Moving further into the house, Maxwell noticed the wide-sized furniture. He allowed himself a chuckle at the thought of 'plus-sized' women climbing they're way up, causing the trees to wobble with the extra strain. But that didn't make sense; people didn't get fat from living off the land, they got that way by living off the _meat_ , if you get what he's thinking.

Stepping into the kitchen, Maxwell caught whiff of a familiar morning scent. A delectable ingredient, one that goes well with Nutella on toasted bread. His mouth began salivating at the thought.

 _Oh so sweet, Honey._

Wasting not a single second, the man went straight for the drawers, rummaging through them and throwing aside any invalid items. His pupils dilated, causing him to increasingly appear as a feral beast. Maxwell didn't leave anyplace untouched in his frenzy-like state.

Glasses, plates, chairs, the freaky bdsm outfit under the sink. Maxwell did not discriminate.

His efforts showed fruition as he leaped out of the stone oven, soot on face and sticky satchel in hand. Not bothering to waste time opening it, Maxwell teared through the leather with his canines, lapping up the sticky goodness as it flowed out from the tiny opening. With sugar flowing through his system, the black-skinned man slowly regained control of his body, fully appreciating the sweetness such fresh honey was able to deliver.

 _Man that was good..._

With his hunger satisfied, Maxwell could think more clearly now. Looking at the mess around him and carefully going through various simulations, he concluded that the best option would be to just leave this fine establishment and never look back. He was nobody's maid, that's a given. Someone else could deal with the mess. "In fact, there. Compensation." The man left two crumbled twenty dollar bills on the table, fully aware that his currency was useless here.

 _At least it makes me seem less like an arse, right?_ Maxwell thought, feeling the effects of an invisible audience. Then he looked down at his shirt. "Shit."

Despite everything that happened, it appeared that his favored and only jacket couldn't resist the classic soot in the fire stove. "How the hell does ol' saint nick get down that chimney, lookin' all fresh? My man's got that God mode I tell you..." Maxwell dampened one of the few rags lying in the kitchen and and brought it up to his face, wiping the filthiness off of it.

"Sister, didn't you tell me you were coming home late today...?"

Maxwell stiffened and slowly turned around, his eyes connecting with the owner of the voice. To his surprise, it wasn't the monstrous plus-sized woman he had expected but it was almost just as bad. It explained the wide-sized furniture. It was a harpy; with her hair tied up and light-red colored feathers covering all the sensitive bits. "Censoring is quite the tool," he muttered under his breath.

But first he had to deal with _this_... thing. First things, first; talk believable bullshit. "You see, I am cosplaying. As a human."

That explanation seemed to have flown right over her pea-sized brain. "Woah! She actually brought me a human to play with! I'm gonna give him the kisses and then, were gonna do the naughty-"

Maxwell snapped his fingers. "Hey, hey! I'm like, right here y'know." _Kinda feels weird be talked about like this by such a young individual... but not Russell weird. But it be like that pedo flow, though._

The young harpy blinked as if a bright strobe light had just flashed her at point-blank range. Settling herself she asked, "Why do you look strange? You look like a piece of bread after my Sis pulls it out of the oven. This must mean my Sis really, _really_ loves me since she brought me a specia-"

"Woah, woah, woah! We are so not going down that route!" Maxwell once again interjected. Races were obviously a high political matter not meant for the young, budding minds of the world to even acknowledge. So he obviously had to downgrade his language. "It's just a... genetic thing. Ignore it."

Educating kids about races, the true and family friendly way! Might've been a good marketing idea, if it weren't for the fact that he was literally worlds away from the playing field. Or the marketing field.

Anyway, it was time to leave the area. Nourishment had been cared for and there wasn't any reason to be putting himself on a list. Maxwell also had to get back to doing what he did best, annoying the locals, while following some incoherent plan! But first came, misdirecting this little harpy. _Shouldn't take an inch of effort, considering that she hadn't acknowledged the misplaced items at all._

"Hey, here," Maxwell brought her attention to him, waving a hand as one might do to their pet. "If you close your eyes and stand there till the count of ten, I'll bring out an even _bigger_ surprise for you."

"Oh, oh really?" She gushed out in a cheerful, child-like tone. She then brought her feathers up to her face and began to count. "Are you ready, mister? One, two..."

 _Time for the finishing act, I call it: The Houdini_ And with that, Maxwell dipped. Dashing towards the door, ricketing the wood underneath, he lunged towards the ground like a primal beast. Landing on all fours he immediately 'picked up the pace', kicking up dust and heading towards wherever his senses took him.

"...seven, eight..."

* * *

 _Once again, I walk this path alone. Even if I don't know what 'path' I'm on!_ Maxwell hummed as he trekked in the woods. Usually on treks like this, he would listen to some kind of music on the side, but seeing as he didn't have a music player, he had to settle for humming his tunes instead.

Hell was a solo trip.

After about half an hour of transversing across the uneven landscape, Maxwell was met with an interesting sight. Spread out across the forest floor was the remains of a human being. Rather it was an empty vessel with out an soul to inhabit it.

A thick trail of blood leading from behind the nearby tree clearly showed that the man had struggled in vain before being brutally torn apart from the waist upward. Apparently, there had been some _hot sexy, freaky_ inter-species sex and the end result wasn't too pleasant for the man- if the blood puddling right where his crotch used to be meant anything.

Maxwell was neither appalled by the slaughter, nor was he consumed by an overbearing rage at the expense of another. He simply stared at the remains, as he moved in closer to get a better look. At was inside his pockets, of course.

Blood caked his hands as he rummaged through the former man's pants. _Just as a disclaimer, no homosexual bro. Just doin' my job._

"Let's see, we got some... cards?" Maxwell voiced out in bewilderment, as he pulled out the thin metal objects from the pocket. He then flipped one of them over to read the text on it. "Traveling mercenary for hire, Verdez Maquis? Who the hell be this man?"

 _And with a name like that, you probably deserved to die._ Sunlight reflected of the shiny metal as the man held it up to the sky. He could see that a lot of work had gone into the making of this... now rather useless business card. But no matter how nice it may appear as, it wasn't of any worth to Maxwell as he clearly didn't own this business!

So he placed it in his pocket. Maybe stealing the business could come into play.

But at that moment his eyes took notice of a paper sticking of the man's coat, which was further up along the path. Moving closer to it, he noticed the ever-so present stench of death grow stronger. The smell was akin to strong nail polish remover and feces, wrapped up into a nausea-inducing gas bomb for your worst enemy to enjoy. Maxwell covered his nose with the green undershirt and began breathing through his mouth.

 _Bleh, death smells like... well death._ With this astute observation in hand, the man walked up to 'Verdez's' upper torso, and was met with a revolting sight. The torso had been gutted as if it were livestock, organs and blood alike spilling out of the opening.

With a reluctant hand, Maxwell quickly and cleanly swiped the paper from the man's shirt pocket. "Man, that was anticlimactic. Almost expected some weird alien thing to ambush me." He took a few steps back, flipping open the letter while doing so.

 _[I have heard of your services and would like you to take care of a monster that has been terrorizing our merchants. Though I am sure you have already heard this from various rumors, but it is confirmed that we have a roper girl level threat. Sh- no **it** appears to be attacking anyone that attempts to go through the route to Enrika. Obviously, this has been a major blow to my __business and relations._ _As we have discussed in detail, you will get 70 gold as a starting pay and 687 for completing the deed. I wish the best of luck to you and hope that you accomplish this task. Please bring the head of this vile beast back to Iliasburg so I can confirm the completion of this task._

 _Best Regards from, Phelep R. Diegnet.]_

And in the far left corner of the letter there was a seal depicting some kind of soaring eagle, stamped in red.

"Well, it didn't look like this wen't too well for him..." Maxwell commented as he glanced back at the man's fallen body. He quickly skimmed over the letter again. "...but this looks like a great opportunity for me!"

 _Of course, I might have to have some words about this 'Phelep' fellow but I could probably just take this guy's quest, business and money all in one fell swoop. But da hells a Roper girl? Do they use ropes like cowboy's in them good ol' western movies?_ The man folded the letter and placed it in his pocket along with the business card. "Time to follow that trail! The blood trail."

And so Maxwell continued his way, walking along on the trail of blood drops that had been helpfully dropped for his assistance.

* * *

"Ok, where is this roper thing!? I got kids to feed!" Maxwell shouted as he cut through dense forest. Moving along an uneven, overgrown landscape was annoying when it seemed like mosquitoes kept going for your ears. _Damn buggers._

He sat down on a stump, letting a sigh escape his mouth. The blood trail had ended a few good steps back so, it was up to random luck and reasoning to get the job done. However, those weren't exactly his _strong_ suits in the field. "I'm just about to giv... The frik!"

Maxwell felt a thick tentacle latch around his ankle. Thinking quickly, he twirled himself around in a direction opposite to the one that the tentacle followed. Though this left him a bit dis-orientated, he was free from the tentacle's slimy grasp. "Who is this?" Maxwell asked.

In response, he heard laughter ring out through the forest, the source of the tentacles emerging from the dense forest. Her lower body was a tall, green and red fleshy pillar that emitted a foul smelling liquid at any visible pore. Along side her body were various tentacles, each as long as she was tall.

The top half of her body consisted of an armless torso of a woman with purple hair and a generous bust. But the fact that her lower body looked like an experiment gone wrong, completely ruined anything she might have going for her.

"Oh you don't know who I am~?" She said, in a slow and condescending way, as if she were looking down on child. "Why I'm a roper, of course~ It seems that I get to have _two_ meals in one day, why how lucky me~"

 _She's a roper?! What a misleading name but at least I know who's head to take now._ Maxwell tensed up his muscles as her tentacles overlooked his vision. "Why don't you surrender? It will be painless and quick death."

"Oh, really?" The roper girl brought her tentacles back behind her, outstretching them. And with a vicious sneer she continued, "Well, I just happen to think _you_ would do the dying much more successfully!" With that final phase, threw of her tentacles then surged forward, overlapping each other with incredible speed.

"Do you want is die?" Maxwell met their charge and ducked under two of them, allowing them to overshoot their target. Moving ever so closer to the roper girl, he slid against the remaining tentacle, much like when you get pushed against a wall and move along with the flow. The downside was that it left sticky, slime residue that he'd have to clean later.

The roper girl seeing this, brought her tentacles back and utilized the once she had kept back, surrounding Maxwell from various angles. When it looked like he had just ran into his demise, the man leaped up and used one her tentacles as a stepping stone, sending him flying right towards her. With the appropriate attack range gained, Maxwell brought his elbow against the roper's nose, the force causing her to fall backwards.

"And here I thought you were all that, but your'e losing to someone like me!"

Growling, she brought a tentacle against Maxwell's gut, sending him flying through the canopy. Branches pierced and slashed against his face, as gravity took hold of him and brought him down to earth.

The man spat out the dirt in his mouth, as he pushed himself back to a walking stature. "It appears that you are the ultra big gay," he rationalized, seeing the tentacles push the roper back to her towering height.

"You are more resilient than my last meal..." The roper girl said, gazing over Maxwell with hunger in her eyes. Her tentacles slowly rose up once more. "But the outcome will still end with my victory!"

Seeing the tentacles shoot forward, Maxwell back-flipped, avoiding a low lying tentacle. Unfortunately, being in air doesn't allow one a full range of motion, creating an opportunity which the roper didn't overlook. Her tentacles latched unto the man's legs, dragging him towards her. She leaned forward so that the two were eye to eye. The other tentacles pinned Maxwell's arms to his sides and did the same to his legs.

"It seems that you are the one who has been caught," she sneered, poking the man's chest with a tentacle. "But don't worry, I let you enjoy this as much as I do." A tentacle began to slither up into Maxwell's pants.

"Woah, woah no!" Maxwell brought his head down onto the roper girl's own, causing her to reflexively let him go, her limbs recoiling. "This must be a safe place for youngins. Now I will die you!" He held his head with a hand. _And there is no winner in a headbutt..._

" **You little shit!** " The roper lashed out, Maxwell gaining her full fury. "I was just going to let you have some happy times before sending you off. But now," she paused to allow herself to shudder with rage, "I am going to tear you into a new one."

 _How do you know of that phase-!_ The man was interrupted with an attack from above, him sidestepping the sudden attack. Earth and dust flew up, clouding his vision. He then felt a sudden barrage of tentacles lash out on him, sending him flying into a tree.

"Augh! This is deathpacito!" Maxwell exclaimed, his body rebounding from the impact. Struggling to get back up, he was forced to suddenly duck n' roll, three tentacles impaling the space that he had previously occupied. The black skinned man reached into his back pocket, pulling out the metal business card from earlier.

"Do you think that _little_ thing's going to do something?!" Tentacles flew forward once again as the man slowly got back off his knees.

Maxwell's expression intensified, a wide grin fighting its way unto his face. "..." Spotting the offending tentacles, the man somersaulted, allowing the two to harmlessly fly overhead. Using the momentum to carry him forward, the man swiped the card on one of her eight outstretched tentacles, much like what you'd do at the checkout.

The results was a nice clean cut and the roper's tentacle falling off. It fell with a thud. A green pus-like substance flowed from the point of sever.

She shrieked in pain as her tentacles wildly convulsed in the air.

"Checkout."

Maxwell, not giving her anytime to recuperate, went in for the second tentacle. The roper girl realized what Maxwell was doing too late, and was paid with the loss of another one of her limbs. Her brow was so furrowed that Maxwell thought if it grew anymore it'd make her face look akin to a newborn's.

The roper girl flailed wildly, the immense pain clouding any rational thought process. Maxwell felt that he was no longer fighting a monster; he was fighting a _feral_ beast. _Do enough damage and anyone can become one. I guess._ Philosophical ideas weren't one of his strong points.

The man slid to the right, avoiding the tentacles that were coming down like pillars of a damaged building. Apparently, the roper girl had given up with tactics and was juts resorting to trying to turn him into a bloody paste. "Haha! Got ya!" Maxwell swiped the card against one of the tentacles, this time causing it to rupture with pus.

"Raugh!" It seemed that the roper girl did not appreciate this act and once more began to flailing wildly.

Maxwell just laughed at the sheer desperation of this antic, further increasing the roper's displeasure. "Look, me and you, we had some fun. But _now_ it is time to put an end to the fun stuff." He immediately charged forward, closing the distance between him and the roper girl.

Using the card of business, the black-skinned man knocked aside any tentacles that were in his way. Once Maxwell got close to the main body, he circled the roper's body and grabbed her by the hair, causing her to yowl in pain as she came tumbling to the ground. Once she hit said ground, the man wasted no time in planting his foot atop her neck. He then applied pressure.

Instead of her tentacles coming to her aid and ridding the menace like she wished they would, they began to twitch excessively, not unlike an ant's limbs after death. The damage she had taken had built up; the nose, the severed tentacles, the rupture and now her windpipe. Trying to breath, it provided futile as Maxwell only widened his grin and the pressure he was putting on her windpipe.

"Well, now that was no _boss_ fight. Oh yea, I forgot something." Maxwell brought his card full swing, holding it upright in the air. "I did say you would be getting a quick and painless death... Sorry 'bout that, mind tends to go places when I be fighting, y'know."

He felt the roper girl's struggle increase tenfold, which didn't amount to much as she was already weakened to begin with. "..Peas.. .l..t ..liv..e.." Maxwell rose an eyebrow, hearing what would be her last 'words'.

"Let you _live_? What kind of honorary monster asks that?! Acting like you're the best, but then you get wasted by a puny human. I will eliminate you for the good of the genepool and more importantly, my wallet," the man said in an arrogant and condescending manner. Maxwell lifted his foot off her neck, but held her throat in place with a hand nearly instantaneously. The act caused the roper to reflexively exhale the remaining oxygen within her lungs. "And then, there were none."

The roper girl gasped empty air.

A downward arc was all that followed.


	8. Guard Spoofs n' Merchant tricks

_Finally out of that god damn abomination of a forest. Man, I hate greens_ , Maxwell thought as he trekked along the plain, dirt road. Bringing a hand to his head, the outsider brushed off several sticks and leaves that fallen onto it.

Strangely enough, all the monster girls had appeared to have vanished after he had slain the roper girl. It had made for quite the 'calm' forest experience, though that was the standard back on his planet. Or Earth

"Must be my rippling mosquito bite muscles," Maxwell muttered to himself, slightly swelling with pride. Then again, an abnormally skin-toned man wielding a stick with a roper's head placed upon it could worry just about any creature with a reasonable thought process.

The outsider grinned as he saw the village in the distance. Soon he would no longer be known as just Maxwell, but soon he would be known as Maxwell, Business associate. Well, he would be, as soon as he took over that guy's business.

"Damn, that bloke's name seems to have left me." The outsider shifted through his back pockets, slipping out the card and letter from earlier. He scanned over the items briefly before shoving back where they were stored. Juggling all that shit in one hand just didn't seem professional, and not professional is not good for business.

Verdez Marquis.

The name brought forward a roaring flood of ideas into Maxwell's brain. But among the countless thoughts floating around, only one really stuck out from the others.

"How the hell did this Hispanic sounding name end up in a 99.9% ching ling long world?! Shit ain't adding up," Maxwell yelled out, shaking the stick while doing so. No matter which way he tried to spin the situation, his High IQ mind could not comprehend the absurdity of this situation.

"What do you think about it?" he asked the severed head. Seeing as the head was non-living, it didn't respond, only moving up and down in accordance to Maxwell's own movements.

Apparently, heads lodged on pikes did not make the best conversation partners. Such was one of the many examples of limitations placed on him by the auth- err, reality.

Seeing village grow closer in size, Maxwell decided to just write the whole thing off as 'wacky voodoo magiks' as if he engaged conversation, it would just be a pain to deal with the constant questioning. "Could be some name granting ceremony…" quietly he muttered to himself.

* * *

"Halt in the name of Ilias! Who goes there?!" A gruff masculine voice sucked the outsider out of his imaginary world. A thin, yet flexible iron chestplate lied upon the guard's upper body, accomplied with some light leather by his legs, showed that this was most likely a man built for speed. By his side, however, there laid a bow and quiver which made for an interesting choice of gear.

It also appeared that the townspeople seemed to be rebuilding the village, as the walls were nearly halfway done, though if such a project was to take place on Earth it would at the very least take a week. As expected of the _magik_ spells and such.

Maxwell let out a cheeky smile. "I go there," he replied, gesturing towards the village with the roper girl's head.

The guard frowned at that answer, and moved closer to the man, towering over him with intent of intimidation. He had quite the scowl on his face too. "And just who do you think you are, boy?" he questioned in a commanding tone, sending spittle flying out while doing so.

"I'm just your everyday monster hunter, and I request access into this town," he replied, gesturing to towards the severed monster girl head stabbed into the stick. The guard fixated his attention unto the head.

At the sight of the head, the guardsman slightly widened his eyes in mild surprise. After all, that was the head of a roper, a monster known notoriously for its viciousness towards both male and female humans. It accounted to the monster's horrendously low survival rating. " _It couldn't hurt to let this guy in…_ " he muttered under his breath.

"Uh… hello?" Maxwell said awkwardly, hoping for the transaction to move along quicker. If time did equal money like his old boss liked to say, he sure was losing a lot of it. But wouldn't that mean you could buy time with money?

The guardsman didn't take too kindly to this sudden disturbance in his thoughts as he jabbed a finger in the outsider's face. "Now kid, as you know this village has just recently been under attack. Currently, we can't risk just allowing any weirdos waltz right into here unchecked," he said with great displeasure in the back of his voice. Now Maxwell found himself on the 'err side' of the guard's anger.

"Yep, that is true," the outsider nodded in agreement. Sighing softly, it didn't take long for his cheeky grin to morph into a scowl that portrayed great annoyance. It appeared that Maxwell too, was near his breaking point. "And I was the one who saved this goddamn ungrateful village!"

"Ha ha, continue spreading lies verm-" The guard didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, as Maxwell utilized his stick as the classic American weapon: the baseball bat. This both instantly knocked out the guard and sent him awkwardly flying through the air. The guardsman landed with a thud, atop of the hay bales a few meters back.

 _That generic was over stepping his boundaries. Of course, I had to put him in his place._ Maxwell twirled the stick in his hands for quick second before looking back at the guard. "One would think head protection would be on one's priorities, eh?"

He started off towards the village.

* * *

After much nagging and hassling on his part, Maxwell found himself standing in front of the local pub. He stabbed his pike into the Earth. Looking up at the sign, he could see that it read: 'Ilian Blessings, for the most heavenly drinks on Iliasburg!'. Man, that's 100 IQ Grammar, right there.

As for why he decided to go to the pub? People know people and those people tended to meet up at the pub to crack a cold one with the boys. Simply speaking, it was a gold mine for information. Well, if those books he used to read back on Earth were accurate, that is.

Maxwell cocked his arm back and aloud his fist to meet with the wide swinging doors. However, instead of them swinging open as intended, he ended creating a fist shaped imprint in the door. "Ssss, freaking trucks…" he hissed, wincing and bringing fingers to soothe his now swollen red knuckles. _Maybe I just stick to people and animals._

 _Also monsters, that is a thing now._

Now awkwardly shaking his hand off to the side, the man walked into the bar, where his nose was immediately bombarded with a certain scent from all directions. The smell of alcohol was ever present in the air, and it only caused Maxwell to scrunch his nose in disagreement.

The pub was quite lively, with many different conversations overlapping each other and a couple of lads having a nice greet and tussle in the back. Normal pub fun stuff, Maxwell reasoned. He then walked over to the counter, where he took a seat next to a random red-haired swordsman. He seemed to be absently drinking some kind of alcoholic beverage.

Maxwell's nose recoiled even more as he fought back a gag. "So, what's happening in the know, y'know?" He introduced himself with an appropriate level street cred.

The red-haired swordsman turned his head so his eyes could met Maxwell's own. They were glazed over, bloodshot and had pupils that were failing to focus on him. "It wear great battle~, I cuth him wich dry blade~" he managed to slur out.

Thud.

His head met with the wooden counter.

 _All in all, though that was funny, that information won't be helping me, or anyone within a 70 mile radius, that is._ "Oi barkeep!" Maxwell called out, slamming a hand on the counter Now was the time to get info straight from the source, or as his old boss had called it, 'the tap'.

Heeding to his call, the barkeeper walked up to the counter. "What'll it be?" His eyes noted Maxwell's skin color.

"Well, do you know an individual by the name of… uh, Phelep?" Maxwell wasn't surprised that he hadn't forgotten that bloke's name with all that had happened. After all, his brain had a built in generic-filter that eliminated all irrelevant terms and individuals from his memories.

The barkeeper blinked a few times, before processing the information with the click of his tongue. "Ah, you want the ol' Diegman. What for may I ask?" He replied, absentmindedly wiping the interior of a used glass.

"Well, you know. The plan, t-the papers, the trade routes to the Asia!"

"…" Shrugging, the bartender turns to place down the glass and moves to tend to a different customer. "Now kid, I don't know a lick of anything that just came out of mouth, so I'll just direct you to guy himself. Now if you get burned it'll be your own fault. Phelep does not take too kindly to lollygaggers."

The bartender gestured at the back wall, more specifically at a stairwell on the far left. "Go up them stairs yonder there. You'll find old man Phelep up there in one of them rooms, I reckon."

Giving him a nod and a grin in confirmation, Maxwell hopped off the stool and made his way towards the stairwell. He clapped his hands together lightly, taking note of his still sore knuckles. "All righty tighty, now time to meet my new friends." As he made his way through the bar he tuned into random conversations.

Totally not suspicious behavior, by the way.

"Tarden! How da hell do ya keep getting all the matching cards?! Are you cheatin' my friend?! It's like the sixth one you've gotten!"

"And then I cut and slashed through that terrible monster, saving my friends once again!" "Ohhh, that's sooo kewl!~"

"Take this!" _Punch._ "No you!" _Another Punch._

"You fucking retards, quit it! You two need to be stopped. Forcefully..."

Immersed in their discussions and fun times, no one took notice of the man as he not so discretely made his way towards the back and began walking up the creaky stairs. _Must be the upmost important of matters indeed._

Arriving at the second floor, Maxwell now had a bit of a predicament. There were six doors and his guy was behind at least one of them. There was only one thing that could be done to complete this game 'hide and seek' ultimate edition.

"Eenie meeny minny moe, eat the tiger by the dozen, if it hollers go and beat it, for tiger pelt makes good molah!" Reopening his eyes, the man found himself pointing at the 3rd door along the right wall. "And that is where we'll be goin' gove'ner!"

The outsider strutted over to the door, and opened it. Or at least he attempted opening it. Despite the lack of and visible keyholes or any locking mechanism, Maxwell was denied access to what was held within.

"Oi mate, lemme in them walls!" Grabbing the doorknob with both hands, he began tugging on it with excessive force, placing a foot on the door to push against it. When one tries locking you out, breaking the source of access should do the same job. The knob creaked as various bolts and screws started to fall off.

Wiping the invisible sweat of his brow, he increased his output. "Heave ho! Let 'er blow!" Maxwell chanted as tugged on the doorknob. With the constant pulling and strain on the door, the outsider's efforts came to fruition and he ended up stumbling back, taking the doorknob with him.

"Hough!" He reflexively let out a gasp, as his feet reacted with less speed then his mind was, causing him to nearly crash into the floor. After taking a few moments to make sure that he wasn't at any risk of tripping n' fallin', the man walked forward, wooden doorknob in hand.

 _Man, that was some bad lag. Worse then that McDonald's wiki though._

Maxwell placed a hand on the door and exerted a light push against it, expecting for the door to swing open It failed to do so, not budging an inch despite the lack of a locking mechanism attached to it. "Nani…!?" He pushed harder. The door stood still, unmoving.

"Fine, if that's how you wanna play, we'll be playing a favorite game of mine." Moving into a sideways position, the outsider began hopping side to side. "I call it 'Infinity Soccer', where everything is a ball, we don't discriminate."

He then suddenly pivoted on his left leg, bringing his right foot flying forward in a roundhouse fashion. The door didn't stand a chance. The moment his foot made contact with it, the door flew off its hinges, shattering into many wooden fragments that were spread out across the room.

Not that it was a surprise, soccer was one of the only sports Maxwell played back on Earth, _his_ Earth anyway. It made for quite powerful legs.

"Haha! Now that's what I call a rude awakening!" The man walked into the now open doorway, though that may not be an accurate description, as per the lack of a door.

Stepping into the room, he took notice of a large single desk that took up over half of the room. The desk was littered with various writing utensils and papers with illegible scribble on them. It also contained a bunch of drawers that seemed to just been placed at random.

At the center of it was a male figure hunched over the table. He appeared to be reading some kind of book, not aware of the sudden destruction of his doorway. Surprisingly enough, none of the carnage seemed to have gone anywhere near the man nor his desk, instead lying on the ground in a circle 3 feet away.

 _This is probably that Phelep fellow. Why else would that door be locked to hell anyway? Important fellow needs his quiet, quiet time, after all._

Deciding that he had stood still long enough, Maxwell walked towards the man, sticking both hands into his pockets. "Yo man, I gots you a proposition," he called out, moving with a groove in his step.

Phelep didn't respond, not acknowledging the Outsider's presence in any visible way.

Maxwell frowned, why would anyone ignore _him_? Maybe there was some kind of secret code that needed to be spoken in order to garner his attention. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the letter; only to see that it had became crumbled and uneven. Taking a quick second to smoothen it out, Maxwell held the letter out in front of him and cleared out his throat. In a posh english accent, he recited, "...you will get 70 gold as a starting pay and 687 for completing the deed-"

Almost simultaneous to his reading of the letter, Phelep rose from his seat and waved a hand in the outsider's direction. A transparent blue wall appeared out of nowhere in front of the merchant and it suddenly moved forward, slamming itself into Maxwell.

The impact sent Maxwell flying back... towards another transparent blue wall. "Shittake mushrooms, this better not be what I think it is..." Stumbling over to the left, he was met with a transparent blue wall. Shifting direction to the right, he was yet again, met with a transparent blue wall.

Oh man, I got myself barrier spawn-trapped here, innit. Despite the sudden forceful push back, Maxwell still had the letter within his grasp, which Phelep seemed to be staring at with an unhealthy amount of intensity. Now that he could get a good look at him, Maxwell saw that he dressed plain, yet neat: With only an ironed long sleeve white dress shirt, a blue vest, some brown pants.

With barriers surrounding him, Maxwell opted for conversation. "So, how's the business going?" He clapped his hands together. I should stop doing that. It's getting generic.

"Who are you and what did you do with Verdez?" The merchant asked with a stern expression upon his face.

"Well, I- um, he died." Seeing the merchant tense up, Maxwell backtracked. "But... I didn't do it, it was that roper girl. Blood n' guts n' stuff be everywhere, like a great Hollywood film. So, I did what was right and slew the might beast, saving the land and the merchant routes. Maxwell's the name, breakin' doors is my game."

"Are you sure that he was killed by the beasts and not by you?" the merchant responded, seemingly ignoring the last part of Maxwell's sentence.

Reaching into his back pocket, Maxwell took out the card, placing it together with the letter. "You could try scanning these? Also, were you two best mates?" While he didn't have a lick of knowledge about the workings of magic, he had no reason to doubt that it would not be able to do such mundane tasks. After all, how much different could this be than that mind reading spell, the cupid used? The last question was mainly just to sate his own curiosity.

With but a snap of fingers, Maxwell was holding empty air and both the card and paper appeared in Phelep's hands. As translucent green aura enveloped his hands, his face scrunched in concentration, uncovering every piece of information possible. All of this happened in the spanse of a few seconds. Use the Check spell was practically mandatory if you wanted to become a merchant or store-owner as there would be tons of frauds and incorrect information to be dealt with. Using the spell with such quick timing was not unusual to those involved in those fields.

Satisfied with his results, Phelep looked up from the materials. "It appears that you are correct and no we were not 'mates', he _was_ a means to deal with a problem of mine. And while it is rather unfortunate that he died, at the very least, my trade routes are cleared and I can begin sending the goods we've been postponing," Phelep said, his tone dull and monotone-like. Waving his hand once more, the barriers around Maxwell dissipated into a blue mist, allowing the outsider free reign.

But Maxwell was not, yet satisfied. After all, he didn't see gold in his possession. "Oi, mate. What about my moolah?"

"Moo… lah?" Phelep echoed with an uplifted brow upon his face.

Sighing, the outsider shook his head. "Y'know, compensation. The yen dollar, the gold pieces, U.S. federal reserve, the central banks! The coins, all of it!" _I fought for it damn it! I deserve it!_

"And what of it?" The merchant responded, a provoked tone in the back of his voice.

"Look, mate. I'm the one who killed that roper girl. So, you should give me his profit, for I did complete his task," Maxwell reasoned. In his mind this should be simple logic: If you did someone else's job, you should be able to take their payment. That was how his job worked anyway, with his boss taking loads of profit on the side.

Phelep calmly placed his letter and Verdez's card on his desk. Sneering, he turned around to meet Maxwell's features. "So what dictates that you actually did the dead and you're not lying to me right now?" He questioned calmly, contradicting his true feelings about this encounter.

"This! Come to thy, mine vessel!" Outstretching his right arm, the outsider called in for his head on a pike. And it did arrive; crashing through the wall and shattering the windows in the room while doing so. Nervously chuckling and taking notice of the merchant's less than amused look, he slid the head of the pointed end and handed it over. "Sacrifices must be made for the good of m- err, others."

Frowning, the merchant took the head from Maxwell and examined it. "How did something of this caliber penetrate my barrier…" He muttered under his breath, turning it over on its hair. _A nice pristine cut. This boy must be a user of the wind to make such cuts._

Placing the head down his desk, Phelep threw a small leather pouch at Maxwell, who dropped the stick and juggled the pouch for a bit before finally claiming it in his grasp. "What's thi- Man, I've made it to the End!" he yelled out ecstatically.

"Yes, as I'm sure you have just found out, that is a pouch connected to one of the many storage outlets I have hiding around. It has the payment I was going to give to Verdez, but seeing as he isn't living anymore, I'll just give it to you." Turning around, Phelep sat back down in in his seat, beckoning Maxwell away with the back of his hand. "Do not place anything other than coins in that bag, if you'd rather not have it blow up in your face that is."

 _But what if I wanted to have it blow up in my face? What would I do then?!_ He retorted internally. Putting said pouch into his pocket, he turned towards the door and began walking out. "Give me a call on a cell if ya need me again." He then escaped the room, grabbing the stick and leaving the merchant to his own duties in the recently damaged room.

Taking a moment to stare at his previously destroyed doorway, Phelep spread out his barriers and casted a quick [Reality-Mimicry] spell, restoring the damaged residence. Taking a seat back his desk, he sighed, taking one his quills from a nearby container. "'Give me a call, huh?'" He allowed himself a rare smile to grow on his face.

"Maybe I will be taking you up on that offer," he said, looking over a paper scribbled in an arcane language. "That I just might do… Maxwell."


	9. A True Hero

Maxwell's eyes abruptly shot open as a loud banging echoed through his modest sized room. His ears twitched in displeasure, as he rolled over in an attempt to block out the intruding sound. It seemed to have worked, as he could no longer hear the knocking of doors.

However, much to his chagrin, he was unable to fall back asleep, no matter which way he twisted and turned in his sheets. Loud noises were quite the annoyance. Groaning, he pushed himself up from the fluffy bed and jumped off it, getting some blood running in his systems. Stiff morning legs were not fun things to deal with.

"Man, now that was _the_ sleep." Maxwell let out a long-satisfying yawn. Considering the fact that ever since he had entered this world, he was either sleeping on grass n' dirt, rocks or somelamia's couch, a nice, cool, fluffy bed was a nice change of pace. His body agreed with this sentiment, as he felt more of a spring in his step then he usually did.

Moving over to the dresser, he quickly changed into his laid out clothes, taking note of their wrinkled appearance. Such a thing was bound to happen, with no washing machines and all. There was also a lingering scent emitting from them, one Maxwell couldn't quite recognize. _Maybe it's high time I start washing these clothes._

A mental image of one manually washing their clothes, suddenly ran through his thoughts. Shuddering, Maxwell scrapped the idea from his mindbank. He wasn't desperate enough to go down that route.

Not yet anyway.

At this moment, his stomach decided to growl, breaking the still yet, unusual silence that had settled over the room. "Man oh man, looks like the ol' stomacero has spoken. Time for dining." His thinking complete, the outsider walked up to the wall and rung the service bell.

The best thing about having a VIP room was the fact that you didn't need to leave it to go and ask for food. It like being back in a modern hotel, just without any actual modern appliances or objects. _Now that I think about it, the only thing 'modern' about this place, is that god-damn bell!_ Frustrated by this realization, he slammed a fist on the bed, causing the sheets to fly up in the air.

Not that it really mattered; the maids would clean this place after his departure, he reasoned. And if they didn't; what would be the point of getting a VIP room in the first place? To clean one's own mess? "No thanks," Maxwell voiced out, answering his own question.

It was at this point that someone had arrived, giving three brisk knocks at the door. Leaping across the room in a single bound, the outsider quickly opened up the door to be met with a maid. She had the generic white and black cleaning apron, with tiny, white frills attached to her cropped blond hair. "What is it that you request, mister?" She asked, slightly bowing while doing so.

Maxwell brought his hand in front of him, and began counting off the digits of his fingers. "Flapjacks, bacon, sausages n' some good ol' mornin' blueberry muffins! Also, bring me some OJ!" He ended with the snap of his fingers. An old fashioned breakfast buffet was the best way to start any morning. Especially when one has not seen these foods for several days.

"Noted," she replied. The maid then brought her hands together in a prayer-like fashion. A bright flash of light soon followed, and she laid her hand out, there appearing a platter filled with the food, pancakes and all. It appeared magic did take time to cast, much like the systems in the books he had read. Perhaps that merchant was just a special case.

Maxwell internally winced at the memory. Getting slammed against those barriers didn't do shit to help his current condition. But that was what food was for. "Send my appreciations to the manager," he said, taking the platter away from her hands.

He could barely keep himself from digging into the meal right there and then, with the scent of homemade cooking wafting into his nose. Placing the platter down, he quickly shooed the maid away, rudely pushing her out the door, with naught a word. There was no time to be wasted, foods were at the ready!

Turning back to the platter, he reached for the utensils closed his eyes and spoke out a small prayer. "And just like he said on the 60th day, _'Eat, just as I have commanded you'_." Maxwell brought a strip of bacon up to nose, allowing the smell to waver.

He basked in the scen- no, he _savored_ it, practically tasting the live beast within his mouth, popping every single one of his taste-buds. If this was what a mere whiff could do, one had to wonder; What would a taste do?

And so he did, and despite his best efforts, the pieces was consumed in one swift movement, bacon strip and all. He wait for his taste buds to be intimate with the strip of bacon, sending the meat straight into his stomach.

He mimicked this behavior with the rest of his meal, not giving his breakfast anymore than a look, before sending it into the deep confines of his digestive system. Taking a moment to lick the remaining crumbs off his lips, Maxwell took the OJ and gulped it down, effectively wiping out the taste of his recently eaten breakfast.

"Ahh, now that is how we do it in America. Eat fast and without worry…" the outsider lamented, staring at the empty platter with slight disappointment in mind. To his credit, he had _tried_ to appreciate the food and eat it one piece at a time. But alas, it was quite unfortunate that his buffet eating habits hadn't lessoned in the slightest.

 _Then again, that was some good food. Who could blame me for just… ravishing the dish?_

Silence reigned until Maxwell decided to open the window, wooden stick in hand. Dealing with that maid -with the way he pushed her out and all- did not happen to be high up on his morning checklist. He'd leave that to the people who actually worked here. An establishment of this status was sure to have some other rich folk for the maid to be distracted by.

Wiping these thoughts from mind, he leaped out the window. Using various groves and ledges along the building's side, Maxwell scaled down the side of the building, landing on the pile of wooden crates below. He then ran forward, taking into the back alleyways, heading towards the town outskirts.

* * *

The outsider stood on the fringes of the town. This was not due to the usual spaces of boredom, rather it was thanks to a particular piece of parchment. The paper itself was not outstanding in any means, having a rather generic brown thin outlay. Most likely backed up by several layers of sheeting of some kind.

"Hahaha! That damn guard sure has a lot of extra time in his hands!" He let out with a shill of laughter, bringing his hands to his chest in an effort to stifle them. It was a laughter of sour amusement, unlike the sarcastic one he usually lets out. It was more akin to self-deprecating humor. "This is exactly what I needed! Man, and so quick too! Hahahaha!"

The piece of parchment paper Maxwell was clutching contained information on a bounty. But not just any bounty, one for _his head_ specifically! Apparently, hitting that guard in the head only made him mad at him. It was a shame that this guard couldn't be bothered to stand up for himself.

 _And such a low price too… Is this really how much I'm worth?_ The capture award read thrity gold pieces. While back on his world, this would've been worth a fortune, based on the fact that people seemed to base their entire economy on gold, a gold count of this much most likely amounted to just 200 bucks.

In more modern and accurate terms, pocket money.

Maxwell teared the parchment into multiple small pieces, allowing for the wind to easily carry them out of his hands and towards unknown lands. There was no need for him to hold such a worthless paper anyway. It wasn't like he could turn himself in for money, that would probably end up with him dead or better yet in prison, _without_ the money. Now that would've undermined the entire point of the bounty.

The outsider outstretched a palm towards the sun, closing it into a fist that blocked the celestial object from his line of sight. Unclosing his fist, he lowered it and let his finger out, allowing it to point in the direction known as-

"Nort- no… East? Or maybe it's West?" Maxwell's day to day life with working on papers tended to render the need for knowing the four cardinal directions to practically zero. And on the rare times that he happened to go camping, he had the ever so useful Compass app on his phone. "Meh, I guess the specifics doesn't really matter. I got the Sun as my guide after all." _To hell with those dang no good gadget technology!_

And so he walked off in the direction of the sun, throwing the wooden stick behind him, the stick driving itself into the Iliasburg walls. No need for him to keep his hands on such an unwieldy object after all. It also appeared to be rotting from juices of the dead. It wouldn't do well to have his weapon shatter in battle. And that was where his abilities came in, when the weapons were useless.

Going hand-to-hand in combat with a large multi-tentacle creature was just like having a large post on his back reading, _'Please rape and kill me'_ \- as per the common theme this world seemed to have. An admittedly strange theme, but nonetheless, that was what he would have to deal with. For now anyway.

* * *

The mountain grew bigger and bigger in size. Maxwell could now see the telltale ridges of additional mountain peaks from behind. Or just really tall ash trees. The ground below him showed an absence of vegetation, dirt clouding up to his legs below him. Much was to be expected, with the _mountainous_ shadow blocking out the sun above.

Maxwell grinned, feeling as satisfied as ever. His great decision making skills had worked their magic once more, and had now led him to a new place for great grandeur.

A cave. From outside, it appeared to be your normal everyday cave; dark, cool and in a nicely pocketed space. A quick toss of a rock smashed these expectations, the sounds echoing many times before fading from his hearing range.

The cave's outward appearance clearly betrayed its true size. "Such a big cave has to have massive exploration potential!" The outsider smashed a fist into an open palm, his sideways grin now bearing a few canines. He bent back, cracking and stretching the muscles in his back.

The moment he did so however, a humanoid figure flew out of the darkness of the cave. Maxwell's body reacted before he did, ducking under the figure, hopping off to the side. The figure was (unknowingly to Maxwell) a Goblin Girl. The little that she had were leather belted armor and an oversized hammer.

A tremor ran through the Earth from the impact of her hammer, the trees in the area slightly rustling in response. "Hey, black guy! Give me all your money and loot and I will not have to beat the snooze out of you!"

Dismissing the comment about his skin color, Maxwell replied, "Ey kid, aren't you a little too young to be playing victims and robbers in the hood?" He moved into a neutral standing stance.

"Fo- For that I'll smash ya skull in!" She reached down, picked up a handful of sand and threw it at his face.. "But first, eat this! All Seeing Sand-Storm!"

"But weren't you already going to do tha- Ah! What the hell did you do, kid?! Ugh, I got sand all over my eyes. In my mouth too!" Taken by surprise, the outsider frantically wiped sand off his mouth and spit it out of mouth. Unable to see his surroundings, he stumbled over an exposed root. "Also, giving attacks names doesn't make them stronger!"

"Aha! That was just a diversion! Now feel the might of the earth! Crushing Earth Goblin!" Yelling out the name of her attack, the Goblin Girl swung her hammer down at Maxwell. However the weight of her own weapon appeared to be too much for her, and her hammer teetered off to the side, creating an impressively sized dent in the ground.

 _What kind of idiot chooses a weapon that weighs more than them? Not that I'm complaining…_ The outsider took advantage of the opening, circling around and striking her in the head with the palm of his hand.

"Ow!" The Goblin Girl hefted up her hammer and took a swing at Maxwell in retaliation, though it was still obvious that she was still having trouble controlling the hammer.

Maxwell effortlessly sidestepped the attack and stuck out his leg, causing the bandit to trip over it and sprawl out all over the ground. Her hammer went flying from her grip, landing a few feet away in the opposite direction.

Seeing this, the Goblin Girl tried to get up and rush after her hammer, but Maxwell quickly put a stop to that action, shoving the bandit back unto her bum with a heavy push. "Are you done now?" He asked with a mocking sneer.

"...Haugh, huuh." Swinging around the hammer had tired out the Goblin Girl as she heavily panted to regain her breath. "N- No, I… am not. For I wield the might of the Eart-"

"What is going on here?"

The outsider diverted his attention to the bush where the voice seemed to have came from. _Backup huh? Well, I'll show them the way back up to heaven._ But emerging from the bush was not a monster, but a familiar face.

"Well, it appears that fate has once more turned her filthy hands, eh Oswell?"

"Hey, wait I saw you back Iliasburg! You're uhh… Maxwell!"

The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Luka gave a small cough. He walked forward, letting his hand rest on his sheath for easy access to his weapon. "Is that one of the four bandits standing over there?" He asked, staring at the Goblin Girl who was holding her hammer in her hands once more.

Maxwell followed Luka's gaze. "What do you mean by 'Four bandi-?! Hey, where do you think you're going, mate?! Come back, I got fresh questions for you!" He yelled out, agitated. His adversary blew a fat raspberry at him, sprinting back into the cave where she emerged from.

Luka turned to Maxwell and said, "The four bandits have been harassing the villagers for the past month. So I have been asked to deal with them, as a Hero should, of course." He then withdrew his sword and aimed its point at the cave. "And according to what they have told me, their hideout should be in that cave."

Rolling his eyes, Maxwell responded bitterly, "No shit, sherlock. Bet you felt like a real detective, huh? _Inspector_ Oswell." It always annoyed him to hear people tell him information that was either, easy to figure out or information he already knew. Such things where a complete waste of time to him.

If Luka was bothered or annoyed by these statements he didn't show it, instead walking towards the cave the Goblin Girl had just ran into. He withdrew his sword from its sheath.

Maxwell took note of the sword's _unique_ appearance. It definitely did not suit Luka, its grotesque appearance better suit to be wielded by a villainous individual. The sword seemed to be made out of miniature figurines, as he could see could see winged figures making up the exterior of the sword. He subtly flinched as he heard an eerie grown come from its base.

 _How the hell did this kid get his hands on such a cursed lookin' weapon?_ The outsider pondered as he followed after Luka into the cave. He didn't see, or hear artifacts of any kind lying around in this region. If he had, then he wouldn't be playing cave exploring, but treasure excavation instead.

* * *

The cave was quite the impressive site, with many indents in the ceiling reaching to a length of at least three stories tall and thirty feet wide. Rows of stalactites and stalagmites, most of them both taller and possibly thousands of years old than him, lined the ceiling while a smaller amount littered the ground before him. Lighting seemed to be provided from above, a soft orange hue infinitely reflecting off the walls.

"So what's on the meal plan for today?" Maxwell asked the purple-haired shorta. He took notice of the compuzzled expression on Luka's face and rephased his question. "I mean, what are we going to do after we beat up the youngins?"

Luka frowned, seemingly perplexed with the way the question was asked. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he responded, "I want to take them to Illiasburg and make them apologize for their crimes in front of the villagers."

"But what if the NPCs don't want to settle with an apology How about if they want to pull out Guillotines? What would you do then?" Maxwell replied, poking holes in Luka's logic.

"T-They wouldn't kill a child, even if they are monster girls!" He replied, sounding unsure about his own viewpoint. His grip on his sword grew tighter.

"And if they do?"

"Then I'll stop them," Luka answered, his voice overflowing with resolve. The lights in the cavern rebounded off him in just the right way, showcasing a great, yet still developing hero in the works. "But we should focus on getting the bandits first, then dealing with the villagers."

Maxwell chuckled. "I for one, support doing things in the opposite mann-"

He and Luka both froze in place upon seeing a Lamia slither out from behind one of the rocks. She had long purple hair, tied back in a ponytail and seemed to be equal in terms of height with Luka, give or take a few inches. Her wardrobe didn't appear to be on the top of her concerns, only wearing a light grey tunic that fell well below her waste.

"Who are you?" Luka asked, moving his sword to in front of him.

The lamia balked at the lack of recognition. Quickly straightening out her appearance she shouted, "I am the Lamia bandit of Water of the Four Bandits! I have saw how you defeated my weaker partner, so I will now challenge you two. Behold the might of my magnificent tail!"

Maxwell walked back and leaned against a protruding rock structure. "You take care of this, Oswell. I happen to be quite the pacifist." Despite the actions he took, the outsider did truly wish to play with the duo. But he knew that Luka had to gain experience and him beating up kids wouldn't help the shorta grow stronger in his 'quest for peace'. Plus, his fingers needed a good cracking.

"Hey! Aren't you the one who beat up my friend?" The lamia yelled out, staring at Maxwell.

In response, the outsider rose his hands up defensively. "Woah woah, your friend must have gotten the wrong guy. I abhor violence," he replied with a grin on his face.

Luka took her distraction as a opportunity to strike, lunging forward to stab the Lamia in the stomach.

"Ow!" She clutched her gut. "That wasn't fair, I was talking to that man over there!"

"Yeah, come on Luka. I thought such underhanded tricks were below you," Maxwell commented, cracking each individual knuckle on his fingers. They had gone stiff from non-frequent use, seeing as dodging, punching and striking does not require the use of opposable digits.

"Got you now!" The lamia outstretched her tail, enveloping Luka within its coils. His sword fell to the ground with a clatter. "Now you will learn why I am to be feared!"

A look of distress flashed across the shorta's face for half a second before shifting into one of indifference. With barely any effort, he pulled himself out her grip, her coils sliding off him easily. He picked up the Lamia, holding her at eye-level.

This continued for a few seconds until a tear formed in the Lamia's eyes. "Wh- Why couldn't I defeat you?"

Taken aback by the sudden change in attitude, Luka placed her down, idly scratching his head. "Well, I'm not sure I could answer that question..."

"It's cause you didn't utilize your _powers over water,_ [Lamia bandit of water]. Honestly, I'm beginning to think this is all one fat big sham," Maxwell rationalized.

The bandit looked from Maxwell to Luka. "Bu... But- I won't forgive you two for this!" The lamia wailed, tears dropping from her eyes as she slithered further into the caves.

The outsider slowly clapped as he followed after the already walking shorta. "Luka, Luka, Luka. I thought heroes weren't supposed to bully the weak." He glanced at the trail of tears the Lamia left behind her. "But apparently, I was wrong."

The hero in question ignored the man's thoughts, instead soldiering forward with increased resolve.

It wasn't long before the duo ran into a short vampire girl wearing a worn out cape and some bottoms. "You must have been pretty strong to beat the Earth Goblin and the Water Lamia-"

"Despite their lack of any elemental skills," Maxwell interjected.

She continued without dropping a beat, "-But I won't be such an easy foe!" Without giving Luka anytime to prep himself, the Vampire Girl dispersed into a hundreds of bats that began swarming him. Maxwell's eyes were glued on the multitude of bats. Seeing a little girl suddenly turn into a bunch of flying bats was something usually seen in a badly produced Hollywood movie.

Luka swung his sword haphazardly, the bats he hit dissipating into small black particles. However this didn't even make a dent in their numbers, as he was forced to lean back and cover his face to defend himself.

While he was blindly swatting at the bats, they clumped together on his back and the Vampire Girl reformed, clinging onto his back. "Ah ha, I got you now!"

Luka let out a surprised cry. "Gah! Get off me!" He tussled with the Vampire Girl for a few moments, before managing to get a grip on her and taking her off him. She struggled in his grip.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She glared at him and began sniffling. She wiped tears away from the corners of her eyes "Why are you being so mean?"

The hero turned his head and placed her down, mumbling an apology. "Uh… I'm sorry?"

"No, I won't forgive you for that!" She began, staring dead set into Luka's eyes. "Now that it has come to this! Let me show you my true power, as Vampire Of the Wind! Just look into my eyes while I gather my magic power!"

Though it would be foolish in any other situation, Luka closed his eyes. Maxwell seeing the Vampire Girl's eyes slowly illuminate, stared into the bridge of her nose instead. A bright flash of red light lit up the cave for half a second. When all was done, the duo looked back at the Vampire Girl.

"Wh- Why did you look away from me?" Vampire Girl blubbered out, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Waah! Why are you so mean to me?"

"So…. Sorry?"

"Waaah!" She was devastated, losing the will to fight in her anguish.

Luka ignored her cries of defeat and strolled up to her with a look of confusion. "By the way… You said [Of the Wind], but you didn't use any wind attacks…?"

"I… can't. We're only imitating the Heavenly Knights." After saying that, she ran deeper into the cave, wailing while doing so.

"Well, so that was what was going on," Luka muttered.

Still standing behind the shorta, Maxwell rolled his eyes in annoyance. One day, Luka's stupidity will end up in an early grave or at the very least, a brutal 'training' session, courtesy of him. "Yep, we beat up the 3rd runt… so who's next?"

"It should be the Dragon Girl," Luka replied, clenching his sword in anticipation. "I'll be a hero fighting the mighty dragon, just like in the stories I used to read."

Maxwell slightly rose his left eyebrow. Wasn't Luka practically fighting kids, ones that were shorter than him? He reasoned that whether or not it went against the beliefs of an actual hero, it wouldn't hurt to give Luka a boost in the self-esteem department.

A Dragon Pup appeared at the end of the cave, as they turned a corner. "The last of the four, this [Dragon of Fire of the Four Bandits] shall be your opponent! After all, since you came so far, you must be a true hero!" She only had on cloth, a cloth bra and a loincloth covering all the important bits.

Luka brandished his sword in anticipation. "Bad little thieves like you must be punished!" His expression was filled with resolve.

"Gao!" Dragon Pup attacked first, spewing out a torrent of blazing hot flames. Luka leaped to the side, avoiding the attack. However, dodging the attack did not negate the heated air that nearly seared his skin.

"Yowch!" Luka let out involuntarily, hissing due to the heat. He swung his sword downward, hitting the Dragon Pup on the head. His sword rebounded of her head, his arm shaking slightly while doing so. He hadn't made so much of a scratch on the Dragon Pup.

Despite his attack having no damage, the Pup winced back in pain, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Ow, that hurt!" In retaliation, she jumped unto him and bit at his arm, trying to take a chunk of it off.

"D-Damn, get off me!" Luka twisted his arm around the bandit, and slashed at her unexposed back. With a yelp of pain, she dropped of the kid, hitting the ground with a thud.

Seizing the moment of her disorientedness, Luka leaped high into the air rising his sword well above his head. He then swung, aiming for the Dragon Pup's neck. "Demon Decapitation!" Power rose through his sword as he brought it down.

"So, you're using that skill again," Maxwell idly commented. He thought back to the first time he saw Luka using the skill, when the Grandraia was rampaging through the town. Back then, Luka could barely hold his sword in the correct position to swing it. Now, the hero was able to attack with more speed and accuracy than before. The outsider wondered why Luka's intelligence hadn't grown at all, as that should be his main concern.

Simultaneous to Luka's swing, the Dragon Pup brought up her sharp nail. Their attacks connected, and the Dragon Pup was sent flying to the ground. "I… won?" Luka placed his sword back into its sheath, as she laid face down on the ground.

Maxwell felt a sudden sense of unease. Without explanation, he pivoted himself towards the closed space of the cave, where all the rock converged to form a natural barrier. It was the same sense of feeling one got when encountering a final boss.

"Finally, it looks like the battle between the fake Hero and the tiny ragon is over," Alice appears in front of the duo, giving a rude remark about Luka's behavior. She has a tumble of wriggling mass in her arms.

But then again, she actually isn't wrong… Maxwell thought.

"Oh, that's…" Luka trails off, his tiny brain trying to comprehend the situation.

Alice opens her arms, allowing the 'wrigglers' to drop next to the Dragon Pup. "These are all the bandits, I found lying around. You can do whatever you want to do with them. Sell them, violate them, seal them or eat them. I don't care. You were the one who wanted to root them out. " At those spoken words, all four bandits begin crying again.

Maxwell, unable to keep his amusement contained, let out a series of high-pitched giggles. He knew that this wasn't the time or the place to laugh, but just couldn't help it. Gathering strange looks from both the monsters and human, he excused himself to the far wall. "Just… look at their faces when they fell!" Giving himself some time to let out his laughter, he made his back to the group, who seemed to have resolved their issues.

"We are going back to Iliasburg to make them apologize for what they have done. And I'm sure they'll be fine. That Amira lamia lives in the middle of town, so a bunch of monster kids apologizing should do no harm," Luka informed him, still giving a confused expression.

"Alrighty, matey. Lead the way."

And with that Alice, Maxwell, Luka and the Four bandits made their way back to Iliasburg.


	10. Village Unbound

There was an unease in the town as the group of monsters and humans made their way towards the center of town. The four bandits huddled closer to Luka, while Maxwell and Alice walked on both sides of them. As they approached the crowds, Luka reached for the sword on his waist. Despite not being trained in the art telling the atmosphere, even he could sense the subtle hostility in the air.

While the townspeople did not outly express any form of disdain, Luka could see it in the not-so discreet whispering and sideways glances thrown in their direction. Some of them acted as if all was normal while scurrying away at a quick pace, but most of them pretended to ignore his group. The crowd only grew larger has the group made their way to the center near the markets.

Luka sneaked a glance at Maxwell, who was currently making rude expressions and giving comments towards anyone directing their attention towards him. Despite helping him in his first real battle and dealing with the bandits, the young hero couldn't quite understand his motivations. While he himself did have reason for fighting monsters (not that he really wanted to anyway), Maxwell just seemed to get some kind of enjoyment out it, joining Luka whenever they happened to cross paths. It was strange behavior, to the point of stretching against his core beliefs.

"What a letdown. These villagers are a lot more passive then what I thought they'd be," Maxwell commented with a downcast expression on his face. He seemed to be disappointed by the lack of resistance from the people surrounding him, a fact Luka's mind couldn't quite comprehend.

"Of course, they're not going to attack us," Alice responded , throwing back a few stray hair strands with a backhand wave. "As far as they know, we have both a dragon and vampire on our side. It'd be foolish for them to attack us right now. Idiot."

"Oi, Alice! You can't keep calling everyone an idiot, you know. It's rude!" Luka called out.

The person, or rather lamia in question, only rolled her eyes in response, much to Luka's chagrin. Maxwell on the other hand, let out a small chortle, a deep, squeaking sound escaping his lungs.

"Don't worry, Oswell, it's all in good jest, I'm sure. Wouldn't have made it this far in life if I had such a soft exterior."

* * *

They stopped walking when they reached the plaza, a crowd of people forming around their group. The four bandits looked mortified, as they were unable to stop shaking in place. Alice remained indifferent to the crowd, folding her arms over one another with an observing gaze. Maxwell just smirked at Luka and gave him a shrug.

Even though no words were spoken, Luka could still understand the implications behind it. With a nervous sigh and a silent prayer to Ilias, he stepped forward. "Um… everyone! Can I please have your attention!" The crowd went silent as all eyes laid upon him. The butterflies in his stomach multiplied as the weight of their stares grew. Taking a deep breath to rid himself of his insecurities, he continued. "The bandits you have been worrying about happen to all be little girls! And they're here to apologize for for their crimes!"

Before anyone in the crowd could throw out any accusations, the Goblin Girl cracked out, crying while stuttering. "We- We are really sorry for bothering you! W- We just thought i- it would be fun to play bandits!" Seeing their comrade cry, the other bandits chimed in, shouting out apologies to the townspeople. The majority of the crowd looked forgiving, and nodded at the bandit's apology. Luka noticed some of them scoffing and turning away, but this seemed to be in the minority.

Someone from the crowd, who Luka quickly recognized as the Weapons shop owner, stepped forward. "Hey! Can that little dragon breath fire?" He motioned towards the Dragon Girl, his hammer pointed in her direction.

"Yes?" She responded tentatively.

"Great!" He exclaimed, releasing a booming laugh. "How would you like to work at my store and become my apprentice? You can help me create knives and daggers to make up for all the ones you stole!"

"Huh?! Really?! She yelped, with a tone of surprise.

"Of course! I've always wanted to have a dragon work on the forge! It gives weapons a certain resilience and feel that just can't be obtained anywhere else!"

His offer caused a ripple to move throughout the crowd, as other people pushed forward, calling out offers. "Hey, is the goblin strong? Maybe she can help me with deliveries!" "How much magic does the little one know?" "Any of them know how to run a counter?" "Is the lamia strong? Can she work with water?" Luka was overwhelmed for a moment as job offers for the bandits came flying from all directions, though he quickly regained his senses and began negotiating with the various job offers.

After standing around for a while, the crowd began to disperse and the girls walked away with their respective mentors. Luckily, Luka did not have to turn to using his sword to calm the crowd. There were a few exceptions, but none of them went violent and just kept to themselves.

"That was different then what I had expected," Alice said with an impressed look on her face. "These humans accepting monsters, and in Iliasburg, no less."

Luka stayed stunned for a moment, as Alice usually berated him with insults, not with praise. "This was a happy ending. But the same thing probably wouldn't have happened in Ilias Village. Huh?" Luka confessed, interrupted by the Dragon Girl pulling on his sleeve.

"Since you helped me so much, let me give you this," she said, placing a bright red orb in Luka's hands.

He could feel a slight magical current running through the orb. But why him? "What is this thing?" he asked.

"I don't know. Some rich people ran away when they saw me at the hideout and dropped this while they were running. I think it's a really valuable treasure," the former bandit explained.

 _But if it's such a valuable treasure, should I really be the one to keep it?_ Luka pondered. He didn't trust himself to keep the item on the off-chance that it could get lost on his way to the Monster Lord's castle but on the other hand, he couldn't sell it as it clearly wasn't his. "Ahh, I think I'll just hold it until I find the Own-"

"Oi mate, lemme get a hand on that!" Maxwell spoke up, gesturing at the orb in Luka's hands. As if he understood the confusion on Luka's face, he said, "I'll keep it safe, so you don't have to. Don't mind if I do!"

Luka turned to look at Maxwell… who had already snatched the orb from his hands and was placing it into one of his front pockets. The young hero didn't make an effort to regain the orb, as the orb wasn't even his to begin with. And it wasn't like Maxwell actually had broken any 'deals' made with him.

Alice looked at Maxwell's pocket with a scurrying look. "Hmm, why is that thing here? I don't want a human to misuse the orbs… but as long as the blue and silver ones aren't here, I guess it's okay," she muttered to herself.

"Eh? You know what this thing is, Alice?" Luka asked.

"Of course I do, who do you think I am?" Alice answered with a voice that gave off hidden intentions. "It's probably for the best that I don't tell you about the orb."

"Stingy…" Luka responded, not pressing further on the topic. Whenever the lamia said she wouldn't tell him about a topic- life related or item related -she was either extremely stubborn about it or told him vague, unhelpful information. "Ah… well, I guess it's time for us to move out. Be good little monster girls, ok?!"

"We will!" The four bandits said simultaneously. "The four bandits are no more." "Our days of blundering are finished." "Now we'll actually work for what we want!"

Luka's spirits rose as he heard the bandit's new intentions. Despite the constant remarks and insults sent by Maxwell and Alice alike, he felt like he had actually done something to the world. First in happiness village with the harpies and the wives and here again with the four bandits and Iliasburg. With each issue he solved, he felt that he was getting closer to his goal of coexistence. "I feel like a real hero today."

"A hero? What about if there was an adult dragon there instead, and you died? Would you be calling yourself a hero then?" Alice reprimanded.

The young hero wasn't sure how to respond when confronted with this question. On one hand he was willing to die to further his cause, but he could tell that was an answer Alice not only not accept, but mock him about. He decided to choose his words carefully. "I don't fight to die, I only fight to further my cause," he clenched his fist to emphasize his point.

"...Idiot," Alice deadpanned.

Luka sighed. It appeared that no matter what he said, he would still end up getting insulted by Alice. Rubbing his temples, he looked for a silver lining in this. _At least I didn't run into that annoying lami-_

"Just as I have suspected! You are at the middle of it all again!" An annoying familiar voice called out.

"Y-You!" Luka sputtered out, startled, as Amira once again appeared in front their group. He could never see when or where the lamia was approaching him from. At this point he was ready to write it off as teleportation. "You came again?"

"Of course I came again! I'm the surprise heroine, of course!" She responded, her snake head hissing out her words.

"Surprise heroine?" Alice said angrily, jabbing a finger in Amira's direction. "Don't joke around about that!"

"Did you know that an evil wizard turned me into this sorry state? All I need is one kiss from my true love and the witch's spell will be undone..." Amira said in a dreamy-like tone.

"R-Really?" He asked. While skeptical and apprehensive about giving the unfortunate Lamia a 'true love's kiss', his good nature wouldn't allow him to leave someone in trouble if he could do something about it.

Alice sighed, giving Luka a very disappointed look. "She's obviously lying, you idiot," she deadpanned.

Luka wanted to give an explanation, but restrained himself from doing so. He had a feeling that any explanation he gave for this would've been quickly disregarded by Alice as 'Idiotic'.

"Che… so you saw through it," Amira said as she clicked her tongue. "I guess It's time I resorted to my newly acquired magic! Heart Spla- W- Wait! These are the wrong effects!" Amira yelled as she dissolved in a manner similar to a being monster sealed by Angel Halo.

Seeing this, Luka looked down at his sword, finding Angel Halo still in its sheath. "Just, what was that?" Allowing his eyes to wander, he spotted Maxwell with an out-of-place, surprised look on his face. He seemed to be staring at the place where Amira formerly was. Luka could see his mouth moving but there were no words coming out and his hands were up against the sides of his face.

"Let's go, Luka. If you spend all your time around here being stupid, you're never going to reach the monster lord's castle," Alice said, criticizing his lack of action.

"Should we try to find that hidden village the shopkeeper talked about?" Luka asked. Back when he had bought new armour, the shopkeeper told him about the place where the armour originated from, including the fact that they disliked outsiders and only did business with a few select merchants. And by outsiders, the shopkeeper specifically meant _humans_. As monsters were generally the ones who 'hunted' for humans, Luka couldn't imagine a reason why they would try to keep humans out. _And how have I never heard of a village this close to my home?_

"Do you even know where the village is?" Alice asked, folding her arms over one another.

Confronted by Alice, Luka searched through his head for the location of the hidden village, only to realize that he had forgotten about the location of said village. He decided to ask Alice for her guidebook, as it contained multiple maps and locations within it. "Alice, can I see your guidebook? I-"

"-want to know the location of the hidden village, Enrika, right?" The disguised lamia rudely interrupted, finishing his sentence.

Luka nodded and repeated himself. "Can I have your guidebook?"

"Idiot, it's obviously not going to be in this book. Didn't you hear what the shopkeeper said about Enrika being hidden? Or do you just not understand the definition of the word?" she replied, berating him. "The only clue we have from him is that it's southwest of here."

"...Alright. We'll head southwest then. Are you coming Maxwell?" He turned to look at the dark-skinned man, who had been strangely during his interactions with the crowd, Amira and Alice. He was currently leaning up against the entrance of an adjacent building, eyes glazed over as he stared at an unspecified spot in the sky. He didn't make any movements or show any signs that he had heard Luka. The young hero decided to repeat himself. "Hey, Maxwell! Are you coming?!"

Maxwell blinked, slowly turning his head towards Luka. "Coming, huh? ...Yeah, sure I'll join you on your quest to this 'Enrika'." He walked up to Alice, who was already prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

"Hurry Luka, I'm sure there will be undiscovered dishes for me to try out," Alice said in an effort to rush him.

 _Oi, Alice. You don't really think the whole world is there to feed your big mouth_ , Luka thought to himself. He refastened the sword on his sheath to make sure it wouldn't slip out and stab his leg by accident. Looking from Alice to Maxwell, he took out his compass and began walking out of the village, his two companions following behind him.

* * *

It wasn't long before they had gotten themselves on what was the 'right path', a small narrow dirt path running on the ground around wild vegetation and trees. Maxwell thought back to Amira and how she still retained her previous appearance. He was sure that he had changed her outward appearance, even after all this time, he could still feel a slight strain on his mind, with all the effort he put into the deed. Fortunately, Amira didn't appear to retain any memories from her encounter with him.

He sighed inwardly with relief. If the unfortunate lamia did remember what he had tried to do to her, it would make things… a bit more complicated.

"Hm..? That's a strange presence for this area," Alice stated out of the blue, causing him and Luka to freeze in place. Soon after she said those words, she vanished into thin air, leaving no indication that she had even been with their group.

The outsider cracked his knuckles against both of his palms. "Ahh, Luka. It appears that is time for battle has come." Thanks to the previous battles he accompanied Luka on, Maxwell had gotten used to her vanishing tricks and knew that her disappearance came with an enemy on the horizon.

And based on Luka's drawing of his sword, he did too.

The monster appeared from behind a tree, walking towards Maxwell and Luka. "Please. Turn back and go back to whence you come from," the dark elf said as she unsheathed her sword, aiming at a white space between the two males.

"Why are humans not allowed?" Luka inquired.

"Because they are human," she replied, with a stern expression upon her face. "If you do not retreat, I will be forced to raise my hand."

"Oh, really? I never did care for the village in the first place, but now that you're actively trying to keep us out…" Maxwell raised his foot and let it drop, allowing his power to fluctuate through the ground. "...there must be some kind of surprise waiting for us on the other side!"

"Even still, I need to go on!" Luka said, pointing his sword at the dark elf. His sword was slightly shaking in his grip. "To create a world where humans and monsters can live together peacefully, I can't overlook a village that discriminates against humans!"

"If you won't leave by choice, then I'll make you two into my slaves. Drowning men in deprivation and playing with them everyday, all until they become my perfect toys!" The dark elf declared, licking her lips in anticipation. Without any warning she lunged forward, sword in hand.

The hero easily dodged the attack with a roll, the elf throwing herself behind him. He quickly jumped to his feet and sprung forward, rising his sword in the air. "Demon Decapitation!" He then brought his sword down, clearly aiming for her neck. The dark elf didn't allow the attack to connect, deflecting his sword with her own.

Seeing the poor hero disoriented, the dark elf lunged for his pants, letting her sword dropped on the ground below her. Maxwell was already moving, quickly reaching up to her side. Utilizing his ability, the outsider broke down the ground below him, and pivoted himself on the provided indent beneath his feet, throwing a kick towards her gut. It connected, her body sent flying in the opposite direction.

"Haugh!" she gasped in pain, collapsing by a nearby tree.

"Luka. Finish her!" Maxwell shouted, moving back to give the hero room to attack. It could all he could do to keep the grin of his face. "He he he…"

In a burst of speed, Luka lunged in front of the elf and drove his sword through her chest. All the dark elf could do was futility squirm as she slowly dissolved into small pixels.

The dark elf took a look at her new appearance, only to realize that she had shrunken. "What's this… my body? You sealed me, bitch?! I'll remember this!" She cursed, as she ran away on her new tiny, little legs.

"What is a dark elf doing in this place?" Alice wondered as she appeared behind Luka, startling him.

"That is a good question," Luka said, sheathing his sword. "I didn't know that there were any dark elves so close to Ilias Village before today."

"I don't know," Maxwell also responded, shrugging while smirking at her. "Why don't you go and ask your monster pack buddies to find out, instead?"

Alice, in turn, frowned, putting her hands to her hips. "Most monsters tend not to hang around in packs, unlike the unintelligent beasts that you compare us too." From her tone, it appeared that she saw monsters as more than the mindless animals that roamed the Earth. Maxwell didn't blame her, after all, monsters could, at the very least, speak human tongue.

The outsider chuckled nervously, seeing the way the conversation was heading. "But you make a mistake in your reply. I'm not comparing, so much as I am… observin- Tch," Maxwell openly showed his displeasure upon seeing Alice suddenly vanish from sight. At least he had managed to stop her from questioning his ability. Now that would've been a pain in the ass to explain.

"I will not allow you to go any farther than this. I'll turn into prey for my tentacles," the new monster said in a domineering tone. She looked more inhuman than her companion, her skin a sickly purple tone. Her skirt was see-through at all the important parts, and she lifted it slightly, showing multiple dark-purple tentacles from beneath.

"Oi oi," Luka grimaced as he took a step back in disgust.

Maxwell made up for his partner's indecisiveness, running forward in a hunchback-like manner. The dark elf lashed out with several tentacles, clearly aiming for his belt. The outsider dodged all but one by ducking low, a tentacle wrapping itself around his chest. "Eyy, Oswell! Throw me a bone here!" The outsider tugged at her tentacle, but the dark elf only tightened her grip.

The dark elf grinned sadistically, slowly lickling her lips. "Oh, I'm going to have fun with you while we wait for your friend to join us…" She retracted another tentacle, restraining both of Maxwell's arms.

Luka managed to collect himself and dashed forward, driving Angel Halo through the other outstretched tentacles as she focused on Maxwell. The young hero didn't give her enough time to retaliate, his sword cutting through the tentacles with ease. Luka then sheathed his sword, his sword doing its magic and pixelating the dark elf.

"What's this? What did you do?" The dark elf cried as she fell to the same fate as her fellow elf. "You sealed me? How can a human know magic this powerful? She questioned before running away.

"Another dark elf… I did not think they would hang out in groups like this," Alice commented, bringing her fingers to rest her chin on it.

Maxwell winced as he hit the ground, the tentacles bounding him in the air no longer doing so. Bearing a look of disgust, he wiped away at the slimy substance all over his jacket. "Ech, I'm gonna need a… fuckin' change of clothes now. Damn it, why is it always tentacles? Always the tentacles," he complained out loud, wiping his now slimy hands against his jeans. He probably could find a way to get his favored jacket cleaned, but he sure as hell was not going to be the one doing the cleaning. Cleaning was not a favorable activity of his, he had his failures with technology to thank for that.

While he was complaining about his current wardrobe, Alice had finished telling Luka about the increased populations of dark elves, a subject Maxwell could admittedly care less about. It wasn't like knowing about dark elves would somehow benefit him in the future.

* * *

It was little over an hour until the three of them broke through the tree line, entering a massive clearing littered with a few dozen houses, fit closely together in small units. There was no one up and about, the streets empty and windows covered. A lone bush tumbled in the wind before them.

"This…. is Enrika?" Luka said as they entered the establishment.

"So it's like that… Those dark elves from earlier… now it makes sense," Alice commented, looking as if she had came across a great realization. She shifted into her human form, growing legs and removing her lower lamia-like tail.

"What do you mean by that... Maxwell what are you doing?!" Luka shouted in a hushed whisper.

"..." Maxwell didn't say anything. He only moved forward, walking up to a nearby house and tugging on its doorknob, attempting to open it. He was met with resistance, the knob refusing to twist on his command. The outsider frowned. Huh, so they aren't gonna allow me to access the treasure so easily.

Maxwell focused his power inward, controlling his ability and causing it to flow into his right arm. With relative ease, he tore the doorknob off its hinges, throwing said doorknob behind him.

"Oi oi, you can't just go around destroying people's property like that," Luka said, with a concerned expression. "And there is actually someone in there…"

"Someone inside you say? This place is _obviously_ a dead town: boarded up windows, locked doors and bushes being blown by the wind. Almost like something out of an old western," Maxwell retorted with a snark tone as he slowly pushed the door open. It took only a few seconds before, he was shot at with an arrow, drawn by yet another dark elf.

"Dang, they must really love their treasure huh?" The outsider attempted to backtrack but tripped over a loose piece of wood, leaving him lying on the ground back-first while the arrow harmlessly flew over head. Not wanting to find out what a dark elf would do to a still male, Maxwell pushed away the the growing discomfort in his back and leaped back, two arrows lodging themselves into the wood where he previously laid.

"What did I tell you about breaking other people's things?"

Maxwell huffed in annoyance. "Zip it, Luka! I'm on the edge of a breakthrough, here. You just don't understand!" Before he could go back to 'searching for treasure', a woman in green clothing exited a nearby building and began walking towards him. He blinked.

In the next moment, he found himself held up by his jacket, with a sword drawn to his neck. All in less than a second. _The speed required to transverse that distance such a short time must be great._ Maxwell had no doubt that she could, and probably would cut him down in the time it took for him to form a fist and retaliate.

Instead of getting beheaded like he expected, the green-clothed lady let go his shirt, allowing him to lose his balance and fall ass-first. Dust flew up from the ground, sticking to his already slimy clothing. Complaining about it would have to wait, as the green-clothed lady placed a foot on Maxwell's chest, sealing his movement.

"You… do not seem to be merchants," she stated calmly, her eyes scanning over the intruders. "But you are bandits, yes?"

Luka blanched at the accusation, frantically waving his arms in the air. "No, we are neither merchants or bandits, I just heard about this place from a shopkeeper. I don't really know about him, though." He muttered the last part under his breath, but it didn't escape Maxwell's sensitive ears.

"I dindu nuffin', Oswell. I was looking for the treasure you guys were hiding," Maxwell spoke up, defending himself. Alice gave him a _knowing_ expression, one that undermined his entire defense. He shrugged, despite his current predicament. At least he wasn't a lawyer; probably get fired from sending his clients to prison.

Looking down at the dark-skinned human, the green-clothed lady frowned whilst raising an eyebrow. "As you probably have heard, we don't allow outsiders into Enrika, and for good reason. Now, if you are sensible travelers, you will take your leave now." She spoke as if she were a veteran bouncer, with a steady gaze and an uninterested tone.

"I understand, sorry for bothering you. Lets go, Alice. Maxwell," he said in a disappointed tone. He placed his sword in its sheath and turned to walk awa-

"Luka? Is that you?!" The green-clothed woman suddenly exclaimed, staring at the ring on Luka's finger. In her excitement, she lifted her foot off Maxwell's chest, allowing him to stand back up on his two feet.

Maxwell wheezed, an influx of air flowing into his freely opened lungs. _Damn it, Luka! Were you really gonna leave me out to die or get raped? Sheathing your sword sure as hell didn't help me!_ He internally complained, his eyes narrow with displeasure.

"Uhh, yes? Do you know me?" He asked in a confused voice.

Almost immediately, her entire demeanor changed and she had a warm smile on her face, as if she was talking with old-time friends. "So, it really is you. My, look at how big you've grown since the last time I've seen you."

"Eh? How do you know me?" He still seemed confused by the sudden mood switch.

"My name is Micaela, Luka. I know your parents quite well. In fact, we were quite good friends," her expression went stern again, making the recent cheerfulness seem like an illusion. "But while it has been nice to see you again, you must leave. We will talk again when the time calls for it."

"Alright," he nodded. "I'll come again, someday, Miss Micaela."

"No need to be all formal around me, just call me Micaela," she briefly giggled. "And I wish you luck in your future battles."

Luka turned back and smiled at her. "Thank you."

And the group of three left Enrika, each with their own various experiences. One disappointed and mad, one content and another confused.

* * *

"...What a strange village," Luka said aloud as they wandered through the forest. "Oi Alice, what did you find out about the village earlier?"

"I was sure that Enrika was an isolated elf village," she commented. By now she had shifted back to her inhuman form. Her face then scrunched up in confusion. "But that Micaela woman…"

"What about her?" Luka quipped up, looking back at his ring.

Alice waved him off with the back of her hand. "It's whatever. I didn't get to have a huge feast like I thought I would. What an incredible disappointment."

Hands tucked in both pockets, the outsider shrugged. "You and me both, buddy." Maxwell surprised himself by agreeing with lamia, as they had been at ends with each other ever since they had left Iliasburg. He allowed himself a dry chuckle, his eyes not reflecting any form of natural enjoyment.

Even so, he forced a grin unto his face. He was not going to fall victim to no down spirits, that was the way to win the game. The game of life to be exact.


	11. Porting Ports

"Alright, I'm ready! Let's go to Iliasport!" Luka said, after a great talk in conversation.

The party of three had just finished talking over where they were to head next. Maxwell's suggestion of going back to Enrika had been overruled by the two other, more sane occupants of the party. The outsider, was of course disappointed by the outcome of the debate, but he decided not to push his luck, lest he would be thrown out of the party. And that would be a real deterrent to his plans.

"Hmm, seeing as this is a port town, there are sure to be many delicacies waiting for m- I mean, lying around!" Alice corrected herself. She then turned to Luka, grabbing him by the arm. "Come on Luka, delicious cuisine awaits us!"

Maxwell blanched slightly at the display of food-induced excitement in front of him. While he himself did enjoy a good meal now and... well now, he despised seafood with a passion. He could still remember the way he gagged, the slimy revolting piece of fish that went down his throat, the seaweed that stuck to his teeth. As it turned out, he wasn't a fan of raw fish and rice wrapped with seaweed. _Piece of shit gave me a nasty after-breath, too._

After walking for some more time, Alice suddenly disappeared at they were about to round a lake, putting both Maxwell and Luka at guard. Emerging from the depths of the lake, the monster used her multiple tendrils to drag herself across the ground. "Mmhh, two unbaptized travelers?" She looked over the two males with a lustful gaze. "I'll suck you dry... until there is not even a drip left in the two of you~". Her lower mouth then gaped open, love juices clearly dripping off its roof.

Luka shook his head and drew out his sword with a mighty cry. "No, I refuse to be swayed by such temptation!"

He lunged towards the leech girl, a determined look upon his face. Her tail suddenly whirled in from behind, closing in on Luka and Maxwell. Without missing a beat, Luka held up his sword vertically as a guard, the leech's momentum carrying her tail towards the edge of his blade. Glowing sparkles appeared on her exposed fleshed, signifying the beginning of the sealing process.

Maxwell for once was glad Luka didn't utilize lethal weapons. Having blood splatter all over his remaining wear would make for an unpleasant addition to his gear. The leech girl was sealed nearly immediately, Angel Halo doing more than enough damage from his initial strike.

"No... No way," the leech girl said in disbelief as her form shrunk into the size and form of a tiny leech. She quickly crawled back into the lake.

"Are you finally finished?" Alice stated, reappearing in front of Luka.

"Yeah... How did you think I did?" Luka asked, looking for feedback.

"Why are you looking at me, you idiot? What was with that pathetic guarding? It was only by luck that you managed to defeat her in one go," Alice said, criticizing and insulting the poor hero all in one segment.

"Eh?" Luka recoiled as if he had been shot in the gut. "I thought I pretty good..."

"Well, you did do a good job," Maxwell began, uplifting Luka's spirits. "Up until the part where you stood still as she swung her tail at you. I mean, if you were trying out for the statue position at an Ilias Museum, you're on the right track." And he brought the young hero's spirits down once again.

"Oi... um, Alice, where do you go whenever I fight?" Luka's clumsy attempt at changing the topic didn't hide the fact that his cheeks turned bright red.

"Where I go?" Alice put on a thoughtful expression. "I walk around, grab a drink or two, or catch bugs. So, lots of things."

 _Boredom, huh? Well if she's so bored, maybe she can take me for a quick lift n' drop somewhere. Anything would be more interesting than playing the NPC bystander role,_ Maxwell thought as he looked up towards the sky. The sun was setting over the horizon, leaving behind a marvelous hue of purple and red in its wake.

Maxwell let out a sigh. Over the past few hours he had to deal with a lot of things, defeating the four bandits, negotiating with the townspeople, and encountering the friendly people at Enrika. Sure, it made for more mild enjoyment but it wasn't the type of enjoyment that he was looking for. He looked back at his clothes. And of course, no amount of fun could be had without some kind of punishment in return.

"Hey Oswell, can we set up camp here?" Maxwell asked, taking off his sweatshirt. "It is getting dark and all."

Luka reached for the pack on his back. "Sure, we can rest here for the night," he replied. He didn't seem as visibly effected by Maxwell's name-calling than he usually did. Though that may have just been a sign of a weary mind. To be expected by the day's events however.

* * *

As Luka set up camp, Maxwell hanged his sweater above the raging fire, provided courtesy of Alice's magic. If he couldn't have a clean sweater, at the very least, he would have a warm one.

The three of them dug into meals prepared by Luka, the crackling of fire accompanying his voice as he re-told an old story about a legendary hero known as Heinrich. _Heroes. They actually exist here, saving people and shit._ Maxwell thought back to his childhood, when he read stories about fictional heroes all the time; daydreaming about slaying an evil beast to save the entire world.

But when holding the power that would allow him to do just that, he stayed silent. Unmoving. Doing his own thing in the world, even if that meant his existence becoming nearly obsolete in the grand scheme of things. It was funny how world perspectives changed over time, from being a naive little brat to one a human with actual interactions with others. Interactions that changed him right to his very soul.

Maxwell decided to rejoin the conversation, or at the very least, give an impression that he was paying attention all along. He tuned in, hearing Alice berate Luka over his story telling. As it turned out, monsters actually did not enjoy hearing stories based around killing monsters.

"Sorry..." Luka said, his frame shirking under Alice's gaze.

"Well, Heinrich defeating that Black Alice is worthy of some praise. If you ask me, she deserved it. Rule with absolute power and expect savagery back at you," the lamia acknowledged.

The so called cycle of a great rise to power and fall to ruin. Maxwell lied on top of the grass as he stared into the heavens above. One was sure to come across a great revelation during their fall from grace. He knew that fact better than anyone else did.

"Huh?" The hero said in surprise.

Alice threw him a nasty sneer. "What? You don't think all us monsters would mindlessly agree with the actions of one of our own, do you?"

Luka recoiled, as if he were struck with a fist. "Well... I'm sorry. I am wondering how the current monster lord is... if she declares war on humans, she'll be a villain, do... don't you think Alice? Maybe even the slaughter of Remina was by her orders."

"Who knows..." Discomfort flashed across her face for half a second. The lamia looked up at the sky with a neutral expression. "Maybe the monster lord has lost her way, stuck between whether humans should be destroyed or not."

"Alice?! Do you know the monster lord? Don't tell me you've met her before?" He inquired excitedly.

Maxwell directed his focus on Alice. _This might be useful information for the future. I'd be a fool to miss out on this._ Baring no suspicion, he wriggled his ears in her direction.

"Met her? No, I haven't." She let out a little chuckle, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "But she may be even closer to you than you think."

"Close to me?" Luka asked, surprised. "But I live in the countryside and I've only seen my first monster recently, too."

"You. Are such an idiot. Well, now to change the subject..." Alice began, straightening herself up. "It is time for more training. Those attacks, or rather _attack_ you used earlier was such a pathetic sight. Trying to go up against the monster lord with that amount of skill would make for quite a miserable sight."

"You didn't have to say it like that..." Luka weakly protested.

"Now pick up your sword! I'm going to show you should be fighting! You too, Maxwell!" She yelled, putting her hands to her hips.

Maxwell brought up his hands defensively. "Oh thank you for the offer, but I think I'll pass on this opportunity. You need to focus on Luka, him being an expiring hero and all," he said, an apprehensive tone in his voice. Alice stared him down for a few moments, before turning back to Luka. Taking training from a superior was the last thing on his bucket list. Maxwell stood up and walked over to his sweater, taking it off its place over the fire.

As expected most of the slimy material had gone crusty and fell off the sweater, leaving behind a nasty pink stain. Maxwell sighed. He'd have to make do with this, not that there were any other options other than throwing his very ties to his _own_ Earth. _Does this world even have a name? Well, I guess I'm just going to call it 'Earth' until I receive more information,_ He reasoned, shifting away the thoughts from his mind.

Moving into one of the tents Luka had set up earlier, he checked to make sure there weren't any bugs crawling around on the interior. Satisfied with his finding of no bugs, Maxwell laid dumped himself atop of the slight cushiony undergrowth. He then laid his sweater on top of him, drifting off to the sound of a human being pummeled.

* * *

Maxwell up with a start. His sweater had gotten cooler over the night, the warmth provided by the fire no match for the natural coolness provided by nature. He quickly brushed himself off of any visible dirt and exited his tent. Outside, he was met with the sight of Luka bowing on the ground.

"Mate, you didn't go and break your kne-"

"Ahh... Ilias, thank you for giving me this revelation!" He said in awe, looking back at Maxwell and Alice, who was just getting out of her own tent. "Come here and pray to Ilias with me!"

"Ha, that's a laugh! Do you really think I, a monster, would pray to you're monster hating goddess?" Alice rudely remarked.

"I have no intention of worshiping your god, buddy. All I know is that she has had no impact on life before now, and there's no reason nor incentive for me to suddenly begin kissing her ass," He replied sharply, his eyes narrowing at the sky above. Bowing down to some unknown 'superior' being living in the sky was not a thing he wished to do anytime soon. _And if you don't like it, you can come and smash this plushy human into a pulp right now. **I'd understand why...**_ Maxwell thought with a thin grin on his face, beckoning the so-called god. If this world's god was truly a god, it would've destroyed him, right?

"Oi, Maxwell, are you okay?" Luka said in a concerned tone.

The outsider wiped his little grin from his face and turned to look Luka straight in the eyes. "He he he, It's nothing my little buddy." Maxwell directed his gaze at Luka's turned back and furrowed his brows. "Absolutely, nothing at all."

After packing up camp, the party of three set off on the last leg of their journey. As they continued down the dirty, thin strip of roading they had available to them, Maxwell's mind suddenly went hazy. It was as if all his thoughts were being replaced by an outside force. "Wait, replacing?! Ain't no mindjacking tricks gonna stop me!" Maxwell shouted, gaining Alice's attention. He focused his attention inward, flaring up his power and using it to regain full reign over his mind.

 _Now what could cause this... wait a minute..._ Maxwell sneaked a quick glance back at his crouch. A clear bulge was visible in his pants. This was obviously some kind of airborne monster attack, using pheromones to attract potential meals and have them at their mercy for feasting. _Then again, if we go on with the theme this world currently has, the victim'd probably end up in an endless rape cycle._

He looked over at Luka, who was wearing an expression between confusion and mindless lust. Alice teleported away, not giving any warning beforehand. His suspicions confirmed, Maxwell slapped Luka across the cheek, startling the poor hero.

"Ah! Oi, oi! What did you do that for!?" Luka shouted angrily, bringing up a hand to his rapidly reddening cheek. When it looked like he was about to retaliate, his eyes suddenly widened, much like when he had gotten his 'revelation' that morning. The hero pulled up his shirt, covering his mouth and nose with it. "It's another monster?"

"Yep, and you looked like you were ready to go to heaven with her, whoever she is," Maxwell responded, his voice muffled by his sweater which he was using to cover his own nose and mouth. Though it wasn't the best option, anything was better than breathing in pure pollen and sex drugs. _The sweat smell of sex is literally in the air, never thought I'd be thinking that, literally._ His thoughts then suddenly switched to another concern of his. _But what kind of forest is this? It's very, um, what's the word... moist._ The outsider was confused by the sudden change in humidity, as just a few seconds ago he had just been walking around in a generic woodland forest. It was obvious that this world disrespected the rules set by nature on his own Earth.

Whatever effect the pollen held on Maxwell was immediately erased by the sight of two armless woman on thick stems growing out of the middle of a plant. Multiple green tentacles spilled from the interior of plant, a fair amount of them waving in anticipation as the two woman focused on him and Luka. Maxwell took notice of the petal marking of the plants, instantly recognizing them from quite a few school science projects done in the past. "A Rafflesia plant, huh... Now it all rings bells in the noggin," he said, attracting Luka's attention.

"You know what these monsters are?" Luka asked, still fidgeting as attempted and failed to get a clean grip on his sword.

"Somewhat. I've only encountered the insect attracting variety, though," He said, keeping his distance from the wiggling tentacles. Luckily the monster was rooted into the ground a couple meters away, inhibiting its movement. But this left the situation, in their opponents favor, as beating them up was the only way to move on to Iliasport without mowing down the forest surrounding them. "Tch, Luka. I'll take care of this."

"No... no way. A hero never leaves those who are fighting to fight alone without support," Luka responded, his hand still shaking slightly. It was obvious to that the pollen was still holding an effect over him.

"And a hero doesn't nose his way into my business. I'll be taking one for the team," Maxwell said, grinning slightly as he pushed Luka back at bit. He took a single step towards the Rafflesia monster girl plant, causing them to suddenly focus on him. He adopted a fighting stance, staying well out of the range of its multiple tentacle vines.

"Oh, look sister! It's a human male," one of the girls said, poking her sister with its set of vines.

Her 'sister' widened up her eyes, before narrowing them seductively at Maxwell. "Well, hello to you and your friend over there~ Why don't you two stop acting so stressed and come and lie with us~?" Her eyes glossed over. "I promise, you two will not be disappointed~"

Maxwell chuckled. Pausing, he then spoke, his voice calm and clear. "I thank you for the invitation... but **no**." He then lunged forward, not waiting for the first inevitable attack. Maxwell didn't have to wait long- several of the ceased their motionless state and whipped in on him, eager for a new boytoy to play with. Maxwell kicked himself of to the side, avoiding the sudden tentacle rush.

He stepped in towards the left Rafflesia monster girl, and landed a karate chop on her neck, causing her to gasp for air. Seeing this her sister winded back her head and released a yellow, sicking-sweet smelling, mist from the stem on her head. _Pollen attacks ain't going to work on me._ Maxwell leaped up into the air and took hold of the Rafflesia's stems. Focusing his ability to his hands, the man ripped away the stems with the added help of his body weight.

"Ahhh! What are you doing to our stems?!" Both 'sisters' screamed out in unison, their faces distorted in pain. Their tentacles flared up, attempting to contain the blood flowing out of the stumps on their foreheads.

"Oi, Oi! What are you doing, Maxwe..." Luka stopped as Maxwell shut him down with a glare.

"Stems grow back Luka. Now's our chance to leave while they're distracted," he stated matter-of-factly. Taking notice of Luka's lack of movement, he rephased his words. "If it makes you feel better, we can just seal them so the wounds aren't as big."

"...Alright." This idea seemed to satisfy Luka, as he withdrew his sword. His form blurred forward, swing his sword into both of the Rafflesia girls chests in a simple arc. He landed on the other side of the monster girl, sheathing his sword with more force than necessary.

Unlike Maxwell's attacks, the wounds caused by Luka's sword left glowing, technicolor sounds across both their chests. Little orbs of light seemed to flow out infinitely as the sealing process began.

"Ahhh," the monsters moaned out. Seconds later she was sealed and had shrunken and transformed into the size of a standard Rafflesia plant. One of the non-monster variety.

"Man, Luka. That was way better than all your previous attacks! It must have been last night's training." Maxwell swung his arm in an arc, stepping over the now sealed monster girl. He sneaked a glance at Luka, who's hands were clenched in fists, trembling under his grip. "But you seem a bit... tense. Did anyone do something to bother you?"

Luka shot the man a dirty look before sighing in resignation. "...I've been remembering to practice all the stuff Alice has been teaching me. And I'm fine." Baring the sealed monster girl one last look, he followed after Maxwell.

* * *

Alice rejoined the group soon after, and immediately began berating Luka. "Idiot. Though your speed has increased, you use too much of the blade for it to be usable in actual combat. If you were fighting a non-injured opponent, they would've had time to dodge those awfully slow swings of yours."

Luka nodded, seemingly unaffected by her insult. "It seems that I still have a long way to go until I can actually call myself a hero," he said with a weak smile on his face.

"And I don't, not trying to be a hero and all," Maxwell said with a tip of his imaginary hat. Despite his nonchalant tone, he was quite thankful for that fact. Becoming a living evil multi-monster-god slaying weapon wasn't anywhere in his multiple bucket lists. And to just imagine the political royal crap a hero would have to deal wi-

"Wooo- kah!" Maxwell tripped over a loose root on the ground, garnering Luka and Alice's respective attention. He landed on the ground, flat on his ass. "Sheesh..."

"Are you okay?" Luka asked as he moved to help Maxwell back to his feet.

"Yeah, I just tripped over this here root..." The outsider trailed off as he realized what he had actually tripped on. It was the remains of the roper girl he had beheaded a few days back for the quest he had taken upon. Her majority of her body had shriveled up but her vines were still stiff as ever. _Such is the resilience of a plant-type monster girl._

And judging by the looks Alice and Luka had, they had just noticed the carnage below him.

Maxwell found himself letting out a mild chuckle as he looked down at the deceased roper. One not too sweet, but very much sour. "I wonder could've done such a thing. Man, with all of the tentacles glued to that thing, fighting this monster would've been quite the trouble, don't ya think?" He bent down and began picking at her empty left eye-socket with a stick. "I wonder how many humans she's eaten before her fall. What do you think, Luka?"

"Eh, I don't know..." He grimaced as Maxwell stuck the stick deeper into her eye-socket. "But you should stop doing that, Maxwell. Even monsters deserve a rest from the life they had here."

"...Okay, I'll just make a move on." Maxwell dropped the stick and began walking along the trail once more. He knew that his actions from earlier were probably making his relationship with Luka a bit shaky. If he pushed it too far, it would probably break him away from Luka and he couldn't allow that to happen. He _needed_ Luka. _I'm not sure if the relationship goes full circle though._

As they continued their way along the road, the group passed by a field with scattered tents. Maxwell suggested that they should go and 'kindly' ask the inhabitants for any of their valuable possessions, but was quickly shushed by Alice, who held him in the contains of her tail. They didn't stop in any of the tents and kept on moving.

Maxwell could smell Iliasport before he could see it. It stank of the fresh ocean salt, but moreso it did of foul sewage and waste. He sighed audibly. He had to remember that while plumbing was a part of everyday life back home, it was a luxury most never knew here. "Alice, let me down from here. My stomach can't handle this any long."

The disguised lamia looked at Maxwell with suspicion in her eyes, before sighing and loosening her tail's grip on him. "We've nearly arrived at Iliasport, so it's not like you could lead us off route any longer."

"...Oooh, I don't feel so good," The outsider moaned out, clutching his stomach with both hands. The bobbing motion combined with the nauseating smell of the harbor did not do wonders for his head, and caused for a massive headache right on his head. The hobbled over to behind a bush and proceeded to dry hurl unto the ground below.

* * *

"For a town so close to the sea, it sure is less lively than what I thought it would be," Alice commented, noticing a lack of people within the town.

The place was near-deserted. The few locals that were within the town, trudged around with unhappy looks on their faces.

"You're right, I wonder if something happened here, Luka agreed. He then walked up to a nearby shopkeeper. "Excuse me, but did something happen to this town? It looks so... empty."

"Well, of course it looks empty! No one's been making any trips over to the Sentora continent since the storm kicked in," he explained in a sour tone. It was obvious that the shopkeeper wasn't happy about being reminded that the once lively town had been reduced to such a sorry state.

"So, why hasn't anyone left now?" Maxwell inquired, butting into conversation. "The sea looks mighty fine to me right about now."

The shopkeeper shook his finger in the air. "And that's the deceitfulness of that trick. No matter how calm and peaceful the sea appears to be, a storm always kicks in the moment one of them ships try to set sail. Ilias damned monsters..." He muttered the last part of his rant quietly, but apparently not quietly enough.

"Did you say a monster caused this storm?" The disguised lamia asked.

"Well, according to the rumors, there be quite a powerful youma causing a ruckus in our port," he answered, turning back to his shop's interior. "Now I've got no more answers for you, so shoo."

"...Hmm, I see," Alice said, nodding her head.

"I knew it wasn't natural," Luka said, also nodding his head. "So, I'm going to have to beat this monster in order to get to the Sentora continent. Alice, do you know anything about the monster?"

Alice looked in the direction of the far off sea. "A bit, but not enough to help you beat her. That's going to be _your_ job," she answered.

"Alright, so be it," Luka said, resolution resounding through his voice. He the looked down at his sword then back up at Maxwell. "But how are we supposed to get through the terrible storm and to the Sentora continent?"

Maxwell let out a coarse laugh. "You and your buddy pal over there are the ones who dragged me to this godforsaken ghost port town," he replied with a bitter tone in his voice. He was still very much sour over being manhandled by Alice and dropped into the near-empty port town. Maxwell then lifted his arms, his face betraying a mocking expression. "How about you just... _fly_ over the waters or something, I ain't no navigator!"

"Perhaps, I can be off some assistance!" It was a slightly shrill and feminine voice, coming out of a nearby barrel. The barrel then suddenly burst open, and upon seeing who it was Maxwell gritted his teeth. Behind him he heard, Luka groan. Loudly.

 _Man, I knew that voice sounded so overbearingly annoying..._

"It is your favorite heroic love and comic relief, Amira!" The reversed lamia exclaimed, eliciting frowns from Maxwell and Luka collectively. Only Alice kept a neutral expression, seeming indifferent to the whole thing.

"But you're not funny," Maxwell retorted, jabbing a finger towards the spot between her two, beady eyes. In his case, it was true. Every time their group ran into Amira, the encounter ran the risk of exposing his past acts to the group. But even if that wasn't the case, seeing Amira just reminded him of another failure on his part.

"Oh? But surely you jest!" Alice replied, hissing over her S's.

Maxwell had the feeling that if she had hands, she'd be waving them dismissively at him.

"Oi oi," Luka butted in, stopping the situation escalating from simple insults. Begrudgingly, he turned to Amira and ask her, "Didn't you say you knew something about how to get across the storm?"

"That I do! But don't you want to know about my three sizes, first?" She said, still hissing.

"Actually, I don-"

"275, 78 and 93! Those are the three magic numbers you all need to know!" Amira hobbled as a strong wind suddenly came in from the ocean.

Maxwell took a short moment to erase those numbers from his memory. He also wondered how the reverse lamia was able to stay upright with her _unique_ anatomy. And judging by the look on Luka's face he wasn't the only one who harbored those thoughts.

"I don't want to know about that," Luka deadpanned, sighing softly. "I just want to know how to get over to the Sentora continent."

"Oooie! Nothing's too much for my heroic love!" She responded in a sickeningly sweet tone, an act that caused Luka to visibly blanch. "You see, the metaphorical key to getting over to Sentora lies in Poseidon's Bell."

"Eh... Poseidon's Bell?" Luka echoed. "Is that like a power or an object or something?"

"Well, from what me and my various, less than legal sources know..."

The conversation dwindled into little more than an info gathering session, one Maxwell was glad to have no part in. He let Luka take the role of intel, seeing as it was his fault the lamia had found them in the first place. _Does she have like a Luka tracker mini or something of that effect? Or maybe some kind of tracking spell._ Maxwell went over the various means of following one's direction in his mind, occupying himself for the during the gathering of information.

"And it may or may not be filled with traps. Or maybe monsters. The last person to go hunting for the treasure didn't return to tell the tale," Amira finally concluded.

"Alright," Luka said, walking away. He then turned back and tried to give a smile but failed as it shifted into a grimace. "Uh... thanks for the help, Amira."

Her face, from what little diversity of color it held, started blushing. And without warning, she picked up the barrel and ran out away. Maxwell had half a mind to ask her how she was able to do such a thing despite her lack of hands, or any usable appendages, but thought against re-attracting her attention.

With that, the group left Iliasport, Luka leading their group towards Poseidon's Bell.


	12. Cave Untrekked

**If you are reading this, may I ask on some comments on the story so far?**

 **Or somethings that aren't tying in together?**

 **Thank you, and move on to the story!**

* * *

The group of three could only make it so far before the sun began to set. In response to the setting sun, the three of them decided to stop and set camp in a small clearing. They had broken through the woodland forest a few hours back, an act that was a nice refresher from the humid, tropical climate from before. The group quickly had camp set up, with a fire lit and tents unpacked, and dinner was already cooking. Alice stood off to the side in her monster form, unwilling to help but still pestering Luka for food.

Maxwell had helped the best he could, bringing back the deceased remains of boar. He avoided any questions on where he had gotten the food from, mainly due to him not wanting to discuss the means of how he hunted the boar. Faced with a lack of any actual combat or hunting weapons, he was forced to be a bit... messy in the capture of his prey. It was just thanks to sheer luck that none of the blood had gotten any on his current clothing. Then he would probably be _forced_ to clean them. Just the thought of that made him shiver slightly in place.

"Oi, you okay?" Luka asked with a concerned expression on his face. He was currently tending to the boar Maxwell had brought, adding assorted spices from his traveling pack. "Do I need to make the fire bigger?"

Maxwell gave him a small grin and a thumbs up in response. "It's nothing you have to worry about, mate. Just keep grillin' those hamburgers." He ignored the part where they needed beef, not pork in order to make them. Then there was the lack of hamburger buns.

"Ham... ber... gurs?" Alice echoed the word with incorrect pronunciation.

"Hamburger," Maxwell corrected her, holding back a frown. _This world knows not of the great American diabetes special? Looks like I'll have to change that._ "It's a type of food that's really well liked where I'm from. And... I'm going to take a guess and say you guys never heard of them before?"

Alice and Luka nodded, confirming his suspicions.

Taking on a 'teaching' voice, he said, "Hamburgers are made from ground beef, which happens to be cow meat, which are squished between two slides of specifically created buns. Though, if you feel like it, you can just use about any kind of bread for it." _If you wish for the burger to not be of best quality that is._ Maxwell kept the last bit to himself. Better for his companions to learn this fact first-hand, then to just give everything away in one go.

"Hmm, this hamberger it is supposed to taste good, yes?" Alice inquired.

Maxwell had a suspicion where the conversation was heading, and he didn't like the end result of it. "Yes, as I have said before: It's the All-American Diabetes Special!" He replied, with much wariness.

"Then you are to make me this hamberger," the lamia began, still mispronouncing the food. "And I will taste test it to see if it is as good as you claim. I am a traveling gourmet taste tester after all."

"A traveling gourmet taste tester, huh?" Maxwell said, looking towards the setting sun. "Why couldn't I have been smart enough to choose and easy job like that? Then again, my taste buds would've gone sore from all the food I'm eating. No more enjoyable chocolate, that'd be the end of me."

* * *

"Get up, you idiot. Pick up your sword, we're training again," Alice said.

The group had finished eating the supper Luka had prepared, and were now lying around on the ground when the lamia suddenly sprung the duty unto the poor hero. Despite protesting back with his words, Alice had won out with Luka slowly getting up, sword in hand. However, Alice slapped the demonic looking sword out of his hands with her tail, causing him to cry out in surprise. Maxwell, despite still lying on the ground, tensed himself up for a tail slap as well.

"You won't be needing that for today's training," she said with a stern expression. Her tone had shifted into one that a trainer used when teaching their disciples. "Today you will be meditating, it is needed for you to reach your full potential."

"Meditating?" Luka said with a confused expression on his face. "How is sitting on the ground with my legs crossed going to help me learn how to fight? Shouldn't I be training with my blade instead?"

"Your movements need to be as swift as the wind, as steady as the earth, with fire in sword while flowing forward like water," Alice said as she recited the obviously overused quote.

If Maxwell had to guess about the origins of the quote, they'd be either somewhere etched on a wall or said by some long lost hero. Anything else would come as quite the surprise to the outsider. He had his knowledge from various fantasy novels and video games to thank for shoving the generic plot-lines down his throat. Then again, it was his own fault for mass reading novels without looking at the description.

"..." Luka stood still, looking at Alice curiously. "Eh?"

"Those are the secrets of fighting. If you do not learn about them, beating the monster lord will remain just a dream." The lamia then patted the patch of grass next to her. "Come Luka, sit here."

The hero rose an eyebrow, before walking over and planting himself right next to his teacher. "So what am I going to do now? I have no idea what you would want me to do... except this." Luka crossed his legs over each other and brought his hand together in front of him.

Maxwell stood up from his previous lying position. Even if he had no intention of following along with what Luka was doing, it would be foolish to miss out on one of her teaching sessions. They provided the comedy: only without the huge television set, contract bills, canned laughter and low ratings. He silently observed the events occurring before him.

"Now Luka, even though it may not look like it to you, meditating is a necessary part of every hero's training." Alice allowed her shoulders to drop, letting out a sigh. "It was once said the fallen angel Erigora was able to heal all his wounds immediately by meditating in battle." She apparently noticed the look of excitement Luka's face, for she continued. "That is obviously a made up story, but it doesn't take away from the importance of meditation."

Silently grumbling, Luka slowly closed his eyes and relaxed his body. He let out a loud sigh as his muscles loosened themselves. Suddenly, without warning, a flash of light erupted from Luka, causing Maxwell to look away from the sudden change in brightness. The light felt quite warm, like the sun's rays on a nice warm day. The outsider then flinched, as the surroundings went back to their dark color.

"What's this?!" Luka exclaimed as he stood up. He patted his body all around and looked under his clothes. He looked back at the laima who was staring at him in shock. "Alice! Your story was right! All my wounds are healed, and I don't feel tired at all! In fact..." The hero stood up and sprinted to a near by tree and back, all without breaking a sweat.

"What?! This is... how is such a thing possible for a human!?" Alice said, with a hand on her chin.

"How is it strange? Didn't you say some fallen angel was able to do the same thing by meditating?" Luka retorted.

Alice pointed a finger threateningly in Luka's direction. "But you're just a human! And no matter what species you are, isn't it strange that you would able to heal immediately by meditating?"

"Well..." Luka sat down and entered the same meditating position as before. Just as the last time he had meditated, a flash of blinding light erupted from Luka and Maxwell was forced to cover his eyes again, as it would not do him well to go blind. "I can do it again."

"Scary," Alice said, moving closer to Luka. She poked his face with a firm finger, causing him to swat his arm at her in retaliation.

"Oi, oi. Stop it with the poking Alice," Luka yelled at her.

"Well Oswell, wouldn't this new ability of yours make you unbeatable in battle?" Maxwell said, no longer keeping his place as observer. He had taken note of the warmness the light had provided upon him, the effects meditation had on Luka himself and on most importantly, the so-called _fallen angel_ the meditation exercise was based upon. In fact, Maxwell was starting to suspect that his little friend was more than what he appeared to be. "Now that you can keep healing yourself, you can become the tank, while I do the damage." The outsider imagined himself holding Luka up as a meat shield in one hand as he punched monsters with the other one.

Luka clearly didn't agree with these roles, as he let a frown appear on his face. "I'm not becoming a tank. How would I be able slay the monster lord if all I knew was how to take damage and heal? That's surely not the path a hero should take."

"Well, then you can become the first hero to take the tankpill," Maxwell replied, barely managing to stop a smile from sporting on his face. "Only the best of the best have taken this quest! Now if only anyone has lived while doing this... that would help me a lot."

"Oi oi." Luka had a stoic expression on his face as moved towards his tent. He yawned. "I'm going to sleep, night Maxwell. Night, Alice."

"Come on Oswell. We're going to have a grand talk about shields and tanks and the such, right?" No response. To Maxwell's disappointment, it appeared that Luka was out cold for the night. _Strange, considering how he was talking about being rejuvenate, just a few minutes ago. Well, I guess its time for me to turn in as well._ He then crawled into his own tent and lied still until sleep finally took its hold on him.

* * *

It didn't take long for the group get back on the dirt trail, Luka leading the way as he followed the path set out by Amira. They passed through the remainder of the forest, breaking way to the coastline, where a dinky bridge was their connector to the treasure. After stomping on it to make sure it wouldn't snap halfway through their crossing, Maxwell ran to the other side, Luka right behind him as he yelled out stuff about "staying safe and alert". The two were greeted on the other side by Alice, who had simply teleported to the other side, not wasting her time transforming her lower body.

Standing in front of the entrance of the cage, Alice sniffed the air. "It reeks of kitsune," she said, her face contorted with disgust.

 _So we encounter the famous kitsune from the Japanese myths. But what is one doing in a cave? Wouldn't they be doing better in their own warmer climates?_ "I hope we can find some treasure in here," Maxwell said, as looked up at the cave. It look as if it had been carved into the its surroundings, the smoothness of its inner workings, contrasting with the rocky environment around it.

"What does kitsune smell like?" Luka inquired.

"Fried tofu." She then took the lead, and Luka ran after her, with Maxwell taking the rear, silently following close behind.

Maxwell caught sight of various side passages and was about to enter one when he suddenly froze in place. He had caught sight of a small figure moving through the passages before his very eyes. It was a short silhouette, with eyes that glowed in the darkness and the cave around him suddenly erupted in mocking-like laughter. "Hey guys, I think we got ourselves a little playmate." He grinded his fist into an open palm.

"Is it a ghost?" Luka asked, his sword drawn but not facing out. He seemed more curious than he was scared of the figure, most likely thanks to its small statue.

"A-a-a ghost?!" Alice stammered out fearfully. Her tail extended out a coiled itself around Luka. "D- Don't be ridiculous! Such things are unscientific! Unproven! They don't exist!"

"But isn't magic unscientific? If I'm not mistaken, it completely ignores the law of conservation..." Maxwell responded, with a skeptical tone in his voice. It was times like this that made him wish he had a recorder of some kind to keep down these events.

"That's different," Alice responded firmly.

Luka tapped her tail until he was able to grab her attention. "Uh Alice, if you don't mind, can you please get off me?" He was staggering under her weight, using the hilt of his sword to keep himself stable.

It was now when the source of the laughter emerged and revealed herself to be a short two-tailed kitsune with grey-silvery hair and fur. She had an armless vest with a sash wrapped around her torso, accompanied with a red ribbon tying it all together. Her lower wear seemed to be some kind of yoga pants(?) and sandals adorned with socks on each foot. She looked young, most likely only a few years older than the monster bandits. Despite her age, she had a smug and proud aura surrounding her.

"I was told me not to allow any humans to get Poseidon's Bell!" The kitsune suddenly pulled out a silver dagger from her sash and held it up for all to see. "So I won't let you guys pass here!"

Maxwell noted that Alice had strangely not disappeared at this point, instead opting to make her self scarce behind Luka. _I wonder why she's staying back this time around... is it the kitsune?_ He wondered.

"Who was the one who told you that?" Luka asked, brandishing his sword.

"Mistress Tamamo told me not to tell anyone her name!" She yelled.

"But you... well, just kinda did?" Maxwell pointed out. "I'll give you a D- for secret keeping though. Just be happy you haven't failed, yet."

It took her a moment to recognize her mistake, then she clutched her head. "A D minus? Tamamo chose me above all the other trainees, I can't let her down here!"

"Sorry but," Luka took a combat stance, somewhat shaking Alice off of him. "I don't really care about your reasons for doing this, all I know is that I have to get Poseidon's Bell. And if you're in my way, I'll knock you down to the side!"

The kitsune shook her head, clenching her dagger even harder. "I guess I'll have to show you the strength of my resolve!" She yelled back at him.

"And I'll be the bystander," Maxwell said, moving off the side of the cave.

The two foes stared each other down for a few seconds, before the kitsune moved first. She rushed forward, waving her dagger without any sort of order. Luka side-stepped her charge and swung the flat end of his blade in her face, knocking her back quite a bit. The kitsune's dagger flew out her hands as he did this, landing on the ground a few meters away.

 _I'll be taking this._ Maxwell quietly pocketed the dagger while no one was paying attention to him.

"You are faster then I thought, hero. But I have to perfect technique to deal with you! Clone Jutsu!" The kitsune did a couple quick hand motions before a clone of her appeared in smoke next to her. The clone and the original were completely alike, down to the slight twitches in movement and the rhythm of their breaths. Up until the one on the right broke out in a smug laugh while the one on the left stayed completely still. "Ah ha ha! You'll never be able to figure out who I am now! With my perfect clone technique, I'm able to attack you from any side and you won't know until it's too late!"

Maxwell facepalmed.

The kitsune immediately got pommeled by Luka again, followed up with a few strikes to her torso. Soon enough, the recognizable pixaltion and sparkles of sealing were visible. Within seconds she was sealed, and was replaces with a silver furred fox, standing on all fours and glaring up at Luka. It seemed that being sealed at hurt her pride, as if looks could kill, Luka would find himself as mincemeat.

"Sorry I had to seal you like this. But I have to get Poseidon's bell and you were in the way." Luka bent down to pat the sealed kitsune on the head when she bit him. "Yowch!" The hero swatted her off his hands, and she ran down the hall, but not before turning around and blowing a raspberry at Luka.

"A seal for a bite, better add that to good ol' mind archives," Maxwell commented, fiddling with the kitsune's dagger. Now that he had a closer look, he realized that the blade didn't have an edge to it it all. The section connecting the blade and the handle began to wriggle. _In fact, I bet I could-_

Snap! He broke the blade between his thumb and index finger. _And I'm without a weapon again. Am I going to stay as a melee class for this journey?_

"Luka, whoever this Tamamo is..." Maxwell dropped the remaining intact pieces of the dagger, grabbing both Luka's and Alice's attention. "I doubt she had the slightest intention of killing us at the entrance. But if we're talking harm or knocking us out, then we'd be playing an entirely different tune. Or fiddle, I forget how the saying goes."

"How do you know that?" Luka asked in a skeptical tone.

"I don't know, but some reason, I really doubt _this_ ," Maxwell said in a condescending tone, while holding up the blade's dull edge for Luka to see. "...could actually cut through human flesh. Though if she were aiming for the head, such an item might become lethal."

"You sure know a lot about what kind of blade edges are lethal or not," Alice said in a suspicious tone, her eyes drawn to Maxwell's hands. "Do you just find edges interesting, or would it be _personal_ experience with them instead?"

"Eh, he he. Oh, you know, I just pick up things here and there from the know," Maxwell nervously chuckled, and act that he was sure to be increasing her own suspicions. He nearly froze up when he was encountered with the question, but regained control of body almost immediately. _This is not good, she's poking into personal territory and I'm talking **personal.**_ _Time for a subject change._ "You didn't leave like you usually do during these little mid-bosses. You have a fascination of with kitsunes or something?"

"That was..." Alice began, before looking away, folding her arms with a huff. "There is something I want to see for myself here."

"My sick dancing moves right?" Maxwell provided, striking a pose. Now holding control over the conversation, let out a sigh of relief. "There's no need for you to look any further, you can just feast your eyes on thi-"

"No. Thank you." Alice held up a hand silencing him.

The group continued on in silence, ignoring the rotating door the kitsune had used in her introduction. Maxwell had, at first wanted to try going through it, but when Alice informed him that such a task would require the use of Earth Magic, he backed out. Though he hadn't used magic any time in his life, seeing as his own abilities don't require mana, he wasn't in any rush to start his new life as a mage.

More importantly Maxwell wasn't trying to learn the multi-step guide to frying oneself with magic. With all the fantasy novels he'd read, added with some slight research about the human space exploration, he came to the conclusion that trying out magic would not be a bright decision. Unless if he wanted to die, then he'd probably get some kind of scholarship in the underworld for most creative suicide method. Now that'd make his parents proud.

The trio passed by a few more side passages before seeing it. Further along the hall, smack dab in the middle of the path there laid a chest. It looked like a stereotypical treasure chest, constructed out of brown wood with golden locks on it.

"Do you think there's gold or treasure in here?" Luka asked.

"Well, I think it is a friend," Maxwell said as he walked up to the chest. He knew that there haven't been any adventures who had made it out of the cave alive. This increased the chance of there being something valuable inside. He noticed that Alice was about to say something but then closed her mouth as if she had nothing to say. _I wonder what that's about._

With an ear-splitting grin, Maxwell opened the chest with both hands and peered into it, expecting valuable treasures inside. However, what awaited him inside was neither gold, a grand treasure or even an artifact of some sort. The lid suddenly flipped open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth and a pale woman's torso slid out. The mimic was wearing a tattered black shirt and had a torso that extended into the unseen depths of the chest. She lunged out, arms ready to catch her prey but instead, was met with a heavy kick to the torso.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That is not a friend, but an enemy!" Maxwell yelled, before looking back at Alice. To say he was pissed off would be an understatement. He ignored the withering mimic before him. "And come on woman, you could've at least, _warned_ me about this or something. You act as if you want me 'out of the picture' or something."

"You dare speak to me in that tone?" Alice crossly responded, her voice over-spilling with authority.

"So what if I do?" Maxwell responded mockingly, letting a sneer grow on his face. "You gonna to tell me to shut up and kiss your tail, your royal highness?"

Before he could come up with any more retorts, a pair of slimy hands grasped at Maxwell's torso. He realized that it was the mimic from before and now she was trying to drag him back into her chest. "You didn't forget I was here, did you?!" She yelled out, her voice rebounding of the cave walls. Either that or impale him, as the chest was now jumping slightly and grazing against his legs.

"No, I didn't," Maxwell let out a little chuckle. It was a perfectly normal sound, the kind that could be heard in everyday conversation… yet there was an underlying tone beneath it. The outsider then narrowed his eyes. "I'm just disappointed that you turned out to be such a defective chest."

"Me? Defect-"

She didn't have a change to finish before her arms began twisting at a bizarre angle. The mimic let out a cry of pain as she released her hold on Maxwell, and turned to her arms. They were defective, bent beyond use by the unseen ability. She glared up at the outsider, her eyes ablaze with fury. Maxwell looked down at her with dull, uncaring eyes.

"You **fucking** human! To pay you back for you did to these, I-I'll rip off the flesh from your very body! Piece. By piece. I'm going to make _you_ experience this pain tenfold!" She screamed out in both pain and anger, lunging forward with her entire chest.

 _Suicide tactic?_ "Luka, if you please. Deal with this," Maxwell backtracked out her range, avoiding her teeth by just mere centimeters. She was quicker than he expected, but not quick enough.

Luka seemed to have got the hint, as he lunged forward sword in hand. He brought the blade down on her chest, repeatedly. It seemed that damage done without Angel Halo, did not attribute to the sealing process. That would have to be done by Angel Halo's wielder. "Demon Decapitation!" Luka finished her off with a downward swing of his sword. The mimic was replaced with a tiny chest no bigger than Maxwell's palm.

Not that he needed to, there wasn't much the mimic could do with the way her arms had been twisted. Seeing Luka's saddened expression, Maxwell walked up and gave him a pat on the back. "No need to be so down, buddy ol' pal. It was either us or her, and we didn't even kill her in the end! That's gotta be a bonus or something, right?"

"Y- Yeah, it was." Luka seemed like he was trying to reassure himself more than he was agreeing with Maxwell.

"He's not lying," Alice pipped in. She looked at Maxwell with a condescending look. "But it is your fault for heading towards such an obvious trap. Any normal human would've been ripped to shreds by now. Such a shame to behold."

"Fine fine, whatever you say, your highness." Maxwell moved ahead before Alice could deliver any retribution. Inwardly, he sighed, happy to use Luka as a way to escape further conflict. "As they say, we will go onward!"

With that the group continued on into the darkness.

There were no more fights, although there were definitely multiple close cases. The cave was filled with dangerous, predator monsters. Maxwell would've been surprised to find that the cave was empty. He heard the sound of crawling critters moving though the side passage. They were definitely watching his group, but staying put in their own places. Whether it was thanks to his demonstration earlier or their own weaknesses, Maxwell was happy that they came no further. The though of fighting a giant insect made his skin crawl with disgust.

The group had a chance encounter with a spider woman, but she quickly ushered a "Sorry" and scurried away on her multiple appendages.

"Wonder what that was about, we're as harmless as smug bugs in a snug rug," Maxwell said with a confused expression. He then caught sight of a light come up from the edge of vision. He picked up the pace, taking the head of the group.

They passed through what seemed to be a wooden archway, one that was rotting at it ends. There were crystals embedded into the walls around him, each glowing with a light yellow color. The room was oval in shape, with a longer length than it had width. The height seemed to be of no concern, the top of the room outstretching into infinity.

And on the other side of the room there was a centaur-like kitsune, basically the upper half of a woman latched on to the body of a fox. A body that had more fur and surface area than a standard polar bear. Her fur was yellowish in color, blending into a dark black at the tips. She wore a light green and white dress that resembled a mix between a kimono and a skirt. Behind her were iron doors, wide enough to allow her easy access through, that were currently shut.

Hiding behind her was the still sealed grey kitsune. Despite being in the body of a fox, she managed to relay how smug she was, most likely thinking Maxwell and the others were about to get their asses whopped.

The larger kitsune regarded the group with a stern stare, folding her arms, all seven tails raised up in the air behind her. "So you are the humans who have so ruthlessly sealed our trainee."

"Ruthlessly?" Maxwell let out a curt laugh despite the situation they were in. He knew that taking on a seven-tailed kitsune would be a serious upgrade from the two-tailed one Luka battled earlier. "We were just passing by and she just so happened to be in the way. And after that, I think you can guess what happened..."

"Silence, human." The centaur-like kitsune angled all seven of her tails threateningly. Some of them aimed for Maxwell and the others aimed at Luka. "I do not know what you seek for here, but you shall not pass beyond this point. After here is the treasury, which is an area I'm instructed not to let humans into."

"Are you with that Tamamo monster too?" Luka asked in a serious tone, unsheathing his sword.

"Yes. I am Nanabi, Mistress Tamamo's aide." Maxwell could practically feel her aura flare up, prepping her up for battle. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed over the two males. . "And it seems that you two will not heed to my words, yes?"

"I need to get pass you to get Poseidon's Bell. So, I'll be advancing, even if it is by force!" Luka yelled with determination, shifting into a lunging stance.

Maxwell grinned as he took a stance next to Luka. "I'm here to get the treasures and stuff, so don't mind if I squeeze in!" Despite the fact that he was facing a monster that would cause most people to go running for the hills, Maxwell did not hold an once of worry in his heart. In fact, he was rather ecstatic with the prospect of fighting a seven-tailed kitsune. "Come on and give us your best shot!"

Nanabi pushed away the sliver furred kitsune, allowing her to flee from the battle stage. "As you wish, human." There was a blur of motion and on the ground the two were previously standing on, there were craters.

 _Damn, that is some power. Getting hit by that head on would not be pretty._ Luckily Maxwell was already moving, looking for a blind spot to attack from. A tail shot after him with speed that could rival arrows, separating him from Luka. There was no time to access his options. He responded by backhanding it with the back of his hand, diverting its path to the ground. However, Maxwell underestimated the strength held by a single tail, his right arm now numb from impact shock. _I can a barely feel shite in this arm!_

"Thunder Thrust!" Luka's form blurred forward as he slashed at one of the tails that stayed back. He didn't manage to fully cut though her tail, as Nanabi was able to flick him aside with the tip of her tail. The hero was sent flying into a nearby rotting wood structure. Blood trickled down his forehead as he rose back up. "Atata, It'll take more than this to stop a hero like me!"

The kitsune inspected her damaged tail. She looked at Luka with a scrutinizing stare. "Hmm? I did not expect a human to do this much. Should I get more serious now?" A leaf suddenly appeared on forehead and a flash of green was seen as her tail regenerated itself.

Luka sat down, crossed his legs and quickly meditated, healing his own wounds. He lunged forward, aiming for her torso. The kitsune effortlessly tripped him over and made move to swat him over to the wall again.

Maxwell seized the moment of opportunity and laid a kick on her side, pushing Nanabi back a few inches. He tried follow it up with a jab from his left arm, but fell short as his hand uselessly slid off his fur. _Damn, not used to relying on my left arm._ He back-tracked, trying to keep her flailing tails out of range.

This gave Luka the time he needed to lay havoc upon her, furiously slashing at her lower body. Two of her tails came flying for him. Luka held up the edge of his sword, successfully parrying both of her attacks, but was pushed back from the sheer force, nearly stumbling over Maxwell as he did.

"You managed to stand up to that attack. You're pretty sturdy for a human." Nanabi complimented, bringing back her tails around her back. "But this is where we depart ways."

Luka panted heavily as he moved into position to meditate and Maxwell bent down, placing his hands on his knees. Sweat ran down his brow despite the cool atmosphere of the cave. He slightly pulled on his arm. _Looks like I can move it again, thought Luka would make things worse._

"I shall not allow you anymore chances to recuperate!" The seven-tailed kitsune yelled, her eyes flashing as her voice reverberated through the room.

Luka immediately slouched forward, eyes closed, yet he still held a firm grip on his sword.

There was silence in the cave for a moment... until the hero began snoring.

Maxwell nervously grinned as he looked over the site. His eyes wandered from the kitsune to Luka and back again. He felt like laughing aimlessly at the situation before him. The only reason he wasn't sleeping along with Luka was because he had been looking at his own arm, a usually fatal mistake to be made in battle. But now that Luka was out of commission and was now in the dream world, he would have to 'pick up the slack', as to say.

Now that he had a good look at Nanabi, Maxwell could see that that he and Luka collectively didn't do much damage to the seven-tailed kitsune, with only a drooping tail to show of their damage. "Tch, looks like I'll have to get more serious, myself," he said, slightly shaking his right arm. Nanabi looked over him with faux horror.

"Oh? You're going to get serious now? So all this entire time, you were just playing, yes?" Nanabi taunted, a mocking smile plastered across her face. She slowly rose and straightened up all of her tails. "Show what can do when _serious_ , human." She shot her tails forward.

Maxwell was prepared for the onslaught. He sidestepped the tails and activated his ability, calling it out from within him. _Ruler of All Angular Momen- Shite! I forgot about Luka! Well... that sucks._ The tails converged unto the hero's position. There was no time for Maxwell to go back and push him out of the way. But he wouldn't need too.

Luka deftly dodged all the tails, swaying along like a leaf in the wind. "...Alice... you shouldn't eat weeds... they... bad, for you..." Luka let out a loud snore, causing Maxwell to burst out in laughter.

"Ah, oh boy, ooooh boy... this lad's sleep-fighting now? All that hero talk must've gotten stuck in your head Luka!" Maxwell guffawed, as looked upon Luka's half-walking, half-drooping posture, which was also mumbling incoherent garble.

Nanabi looked less than impressed, instead looking over him with a careful eye. "How did I miss? Was it a mistake?" She shot her tails forward again.

Just as before, Luka remained untouchable. He dodged every single tail with a dancer's grace, all while sleeping with a beyond horrific posture. "...No...more food for you..." His sword then shot forward in a deadly dance, moving in rhythm to the light rapidly flashing from within him. With each twist of his body, his inner light flared up, sending off a wave of energy that pushed Maxwell back a few meters.

 _Damn, what's this?!_ Maxwell thought, taking a few steps back. Getting involved with Luka in his current state probably wouldn't end well. He struggled to look directly at Luka, having to squint just to get a clear view of his form. _Is this his EX form or some shite like that?_

"...Kuh, this is impossible! It's like he's an entirely different person!" Nanabi winced from the onslaught suffered from Luka's attacks. Her tails were ragged and uneven, while she now had a large gash running through her torso.

"...Just... here..." Luka began accumulating light energy, light rushing towards a single point in his chest, letting the cave fall back to its usual darkness.

"What's with that power!? If I get hit by that...!" Nanabi fearfully said, quickly accumulating her magic power. She was much quicker in her task than Luka was, nearly instantly placing her tails under a spell. "Since the time calls for it, take this! My ultimate attack!" All her tails flew forward again, moving far faster than any of her previous attacks.

"Mhhh... such... is... useless..." Luka mumbled, raising his sword.

Maxwell felt a surge of energy, far greater than anything her had felt before. In response, he rushed away from the kitsune and stood behind Luka. It was the spot where he was least likely to gain collateral damage from this next attack.

Luka pointed his sword downward, with it, launching a giant comet of light energy at the seven-tailed kitsune. It seemed to come from the heavens above, and upon impact it caused a colossal explosion that immediately sealed Nanabi and turned the surrounding rock into a crater several meters deep. The shockwaves were powerful enough to knock away at any loose rocks along the walls and nearly cause their exit to cave in.

 _Good thing I was prepared for that, would've been knocked off my feet._ _I mean, who knew Luka was hiding this much power within him, but it only seems to come out when he's asleep._ Maxwell kicked at a fallen rock, sending it rolling into the crater Luka created.

"Mhwa... that was a nice slee- Eh?!" Luka rubbed his eyes as he yawned and took him his surroundings. At first he eyes went wide when he looked at all the damage around him, then he rubbed his eyes again. This time, he double-took. "Maxwell, Alice... what happened when I was asleep...?! I think I must've gotten hit by that kitsune's spell, but the cave was still fine though..."

"You don't remember? I guess you must've really been asleep," Alice commented, appearing from mid-air.

Maxwell jabbed a finger into Luka's chest. "You happened." He took in Luka's bewildered expression and rephrased himself. "You knocked out, you sleep, you fight with light power, you use giant comet, you seal kitsune, you wake."

"Oi oi, you mean I caused this?" Luka asked, clearly confused. He looked at his sword with uncertainty. "But I have never been able to do this kind of damage. Ever."

"Oh, really? Then we can just make you fight all your battles while you're asleep from now own. It'll make for an easy journey," Alice suggested, folding her arms under her breasts.

"No way," Luka responded. "How would I be a real hero if I was sleeping during all my battles?"

"You could become the sleeping star!" Maxwell ignored Luka's unimpressed stare and continued. "You see, you fight while sleeping and shining like a star! I could get you like a suit and everything."

"...Anyway, now we should go forward now! I bet that Tamamno monster or whatever must be just up ahead!" Luka said, changing the topic.

"It seems that you have came too late," Alice said. "Maybe if you were quicker in your battles, you might have completed your task."

"What do you mean?" Luka asked.

The iron door in front of the group slowly opened, and revealed a small lone girl in a miko outfit came into view. She looked like a petite woman, only a few inches shorter than Luka, though her protruding ears gave her a few more inches in height. Her clothing didn't differ from the other kitsune's in style, with a white robe-like top and purple skirt that drooped below her knees. In her hair there was a bright red string ribbon and in her right hand was a folded up Japanese fan.

But what caught Maxwell's eyes were the number of tails protruding from her back. He counted each and every one.

All _nine_ of them.

The thought made Maxwell nearly shout in glee. It was an actual nine-tailed kitsune and one less than a few feet away from him, at that. This was a situation he had vaguely prepared for but, not one he imagined he would face so quickly. _What's a literal boss tier opponent doing all the way back here?_ He wondered to himself.

"She looks weaker than Nanabi." Luka commented, sighing in relief.

"You idiot, take a look at her tails," Alice retorted.

"One... three...seven... nine?" Luka answered, scratching the back of his head. "But it's only two more tails than that Nanabi kitsune..."

"Fool, seven tails is not even close to be being compared with nine. She is one of the four heavenly knights: Tamano. And she also happens to be one of the top monsters, like Granberia," Alice replied, twirling a lock of her light-blue hair around a finger.

Luka stared at her for a moment before suddenly widening his eyes in shock. "W-wait, what?!" He fearfully stammered.

Tamamo turned to Nanabi and the little kitsune with a look of slight pity. "Seems like you two ran into quite a bit of trouble when I went into the treasury. Here, I'll give you some of my power." She placed her hand on the smaller kitsune, unsealing her with a flash of green. The trainee then ran behind Tamamo as if trying to disappear from sight.

The nine-tailed kitsune then gave Nanabi a wiry grin. "I'm sorry but it'll take me longer to unseal you. I'll have to get back to you when I have dealt with my 'guests'." In response, the seven-tail kitsune bowed at Tamamo's feet and walked over to her side.

Tamamo then focused her attention on the group before her, bringing up her fan to her face, unfolding it. Her eyes seemed to bore in the very souls of Maxwell and he assumed the same was for Luka. "So... you two are the one's who fought and defeated Nanabi. And Luka, finishing her off with a seal, you must have some skill hidden within that cute little exterior of yours."

"Uh.. thanks, I think?" Luka seemed like he didn't know how to respond to her praise correctly. His gazed wandered over to the bell in her hand. "No way, is that..?"

"Indeed, this is Poseidon's bell. Though, it's not necessary for me to use such an item, it'll do some good to knock Alma Elma down a few notches," she said, raising it up in her hands.

Maxwell internally groaned. _We didn't come here to play 'Negotiations, but with monsters and bells!', I.. er we came to get treasure! And that bell... for some reason._ With this thought in mind, the outsider stepped forward and attempted to snatch the bell out of Tamamo's hands.

There was a blur of motion and Maxwell found himself with his arm constrained by a single hand, the bell held up in one of Tamamo's nine tails. She looked up at him with a knowing grin on her face. "...And you're Maxwell, I presume? Quite an eager fool, you are."

Maxwell shrugged his shoulders in response. "Me, a fool? What rumors have you been... picking up?" The outsider attempted to free his arm, only to remain trapped in her iron grip. He had expected these results, with Tamamo being a nine-tailed fox, but Maxwell was sure that his height advantage would allow him, at the very least, _some_ movement. But it was as if his hand had gone stiff, not even allowing the slightest budge nor even an inch.

The outsider gritted his teeth. He could probably apologize and get his arm free, but such an action was just too sugar coated for him. There was the option of retaliating however...

"Hey! Let him free!" Luka shouted, unsheathing his sword.

Seeing this, Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop. She obviously isn't someone you can take right now. You're far too weak."

Tamamo suddenly, without explanation let go off Maxwell's arm and walked over to Luka. Her eyes looked over him, as if she were inspecting a slab of meat. She then folded her paper fan shut. "Ha ha ha, this is quite a surprise. This human... he caught your tongue, Monster Lord?" she casually inquired, as if she were just discussing the weather.

It took Maxwell a few seconds before his brain fully registered what he had heard. _He_ had been traveling with the final boss, all this time?! But now that he thought about it, all there was one major clue that seemed to lead up to this conclusion: A heavenly knight listening to a not-so 'random' monster, even bowing in her presence. _Well, I'd say I feel like an idiot, but former detective was never on my job resume._

Luka however, had a much harder time processing this new information. "Alice... you... Alice..." He stammered like a broken record.

Alice was silent for a few moments before sighing. "So, you haven't realized it till now? I am the Monster Lord, Alipheese the sixteenth," she proclaimed.

"No way!" Luka exclaimed in disbelief. "You must be joking!"

Tamamo sheeplessly grinned at the scene. "Oops, was I not supposed to say that? Seems like I spoke out of place," she wryly said.

Maxwell clapped his hands, cutting through the hidden tension in the air. "While this is is some very interesting information, I feel like we should be focusing on some more important things. Such as taking our treasur- err, bell," he corrected himself.

"Actually, _I'll_ be the one taking this bell, hmm?" Tamamo was interrupted by her aide nudging against her legs. Her ears twitched as Nanabi barked out in fox. "Ahh, so you saved the Monster Lord's life, Luka? As leader of the kitsunes, I must thank you for this." The nine-tailed kitsune dropped Poseidon's Bell into Luka's palm.

"Huh? After all this, you're just going to give the bell away like this?" Luka questioned, clearly suspicious about the kitsune's sudden shift in action. "Are you sure about this?"

"Hmm? As I said before, it's not like I require the bell for anything. I would've just used it to annoy Alma Elma, but this is suitable payment for you," she replied, before smirking playfully. "...Unless, if you wanted something else instead."

Luka shook his head sideways. "No, no. I think we're ok with just the bell."

"I'm not satisfied." Maxwell spoke up at the same time as Luka. He ignored the stares he got from the others in the room. "I came here to get treasure, or even an artifact of some kind, maybe. Not for a tinky bell."

Tamamo frowned as she stared back at Maxwell. She slowly unfolded her fan, covering all her face. "You are lucky that I am not like Erubetie or another Queen-class monster. Most would've had killed you by now for talking in such a familiar tone, almost as if one were acquaintances. This is a detail you must fix if you wish to continue along your journey with Luka, as I'm sure you will encounter more powerful monsters on your way." Her eyes flickered over to Luka, and just as quickly flickered back to Maxwell.

While Maxwell had listened to each and every word the nine-tailed kitsune had told him, he honestly didn't really care for what she had to say. He didn't ask for a step-by-step guide to talking to 'Queen-class monsters', which were judging by the name, the most powerful beings around. Though such information may prove to be helpful in the future, he didn't wish to change his speak pattern for anyone, no matter who or _what_ it may be.

"So, do you have treasures or no-" Maxwell attempted to start where he left off earlier but was cut off.

"No, I have triggered nearly every trap in here, and there are no treasures to be found," she butted in. Tamamo then pointed her fan at the bell in Luka's hand. "Except for Posiedon's bell. Though, it appears to only be in the treasury behind me. Why such a thing would be here is beyond me however. Anyway, I shall be off now, for there is no reason for me to remain here any longer... Farewell."

There was a bright flash of light and then it all went dark again. Maxwell blinked his eyes a few times, as they readjusted to the sudden chance in brightness. The kitsunes were gone, most likely due to some kind of teleportation. It was similar to how Alice did it, except for the extreme change in brightness level. Maxwell had a suspicion that she exited that way on purpose, but couldn't find a reason as to why she would do so.

* * *

The group left the cave and traveled until it was dark too dark to see. They then set up camp, with Maxwell making light-hearted jokes in an attempt to ease up the tension on the group. He, of course, ignored how he had a small part to play in that tension as well. He also ignored the feeling that he had been forgetting something, which started ever since Tamamo warped away. After eating, and bidding Luka n' Alice a good night, Maxwell snuggled into his tent, hoping for a nice uninterrupted sleep.

But, of course, people don't tend to get what they wish for.


	13. Storms Aboard!

"Human... oh, _mortal_ human."

With a start, Maxwell opened his eyes and looked around for the voice calling him. He took in the scenery around him.

If he had to describe it with one word, it would be: distorted. The landscape before him showed a fallen city, with buildings, bending and twisting beyond any reasonable ability. There was no sun, with only a red sky with an unknown light source and a few light yellow clouds making their rounds through the air. A lone tumbleweed rolled across the ground in front of him. A storm loomed over the far off city, dark red lighting sparking off its unique clouds.

Maxwell then looked around the area closest to him. The ground was barren and dry, cracked from a clear lack of water. It seemed to stretch out to infinity as it ran towards the distorted city in the distance. His observations complete for the time being, the outsider then decided to think about what he should do next, only to find that he couldn't.

Rather than he couldn't, he found it took more effort than usual for him to formulate _complex_ thoughts. _Must.. be another... aspect of this..!_ The world around Maxwell shook and groaned as he formulated thoughts inside his mind. They stopped the moment he ceased his thought process, only observing for the time being.

"Human..!"

A figure flew from the clouds above. It was a woman, with dark brown hair flowing past her hips, earth-green eyes, scabbed light brown skin. An oversized golden katana in her right hand, clearly contrasting with the rest of her attire. The weapon was also longer than she was in height, seeming impractical in the combat sense. She wore a dirtied white hood that was cut at high in the front and reached below her knees and had some short black shorts beneath that.

"What am I doing... in this freak world of yours?" Maxwell asked when she touched the ground. While he could admit that the world did interest him, he didn't appreciate being brought to places without his violation.

"Huh?" The woman stabbed her sword into the ground, leaning against the hilt. More cracks appeared below. "I prefer to call it, _The Abyss_. Then again, you humans do have your own ways with classifying things. And as for what you are doing here? This is where your conscious has decided to anchor itself too. You must have noticed the effects of this, yes?"

Maxwell thought back to the shaking he had experienced only a few minutes ago. "Well, yes. But this doesn't explain what I'm doing here, in this ' _The_ _Abyss_ '. Or why my conscious decided to stick itself to the plane..." The outsider winced as a realization came to him, the very world shaking around him once more. Seeing the the woman in front of him slowly nod, confirmed his suspicions.

"As I'm sure you have just figured out, your true body is residing in what you humans usually refer to as 'Earth'." She waved her hand and a cloudy image of Maxwell, still snoozing away back on Earth was shown. The woman waved her hand again, and the image dissipated. She then unhitched her sword from the ground, pointing at Maxwell. "An-"

"Woah, woah woah!" Maxwell claimed, leaping back a few meters. He didn't know why the woman had a sword, but he did know that the end result would not be pretty. Just the fact that she had turned on him, would've been suspicious, if not for the fact that he couldn't feel any hostility coming from the woman. It was as if this were a daily occurrence. "Watch where you point that thing... and more importantly, wh- no, _what_ are you?"

The woman smiled warmly as she slowly lowered her sword. It hovered aimlessly behind her. "You may may refer to me as Daydream or something to that effect. As for what am I... that would be... a bit complicated to explain. Just think me as a moderator of sorts. And as you have suspected... I'm exactly what you would classify as _human_." Her eyes flashed light green.

"A moderator?" Maxwell echoed, taking note of her giant sword. The ground lightly trembled beneath him. He was getting used to talking without focusing on his thoughts so much. "You mentioned being a moderator so that suggests you're working under someone. That Ilias god I keep hearing about?"

"He he he, heathens no! Working for that _bitch_? Ahh, you're awfully funny, then again that's probably thanks to your uniqueness," Daydream responded, clutching her stomach while wiping a way tears. Her sword clattered as it hit the ground.

The outsider noted that Daydream required her full attention to keep her sword afloat. _At_ _least. She no work for Ilias. Much trouble, dealing with that_. Maxwell had learned that thinking in broken segments was possible with relative ease, although it made him feel like he was some kind of subhuman or an insect. "I am wondering, what do you mean by me being 'unique'? Having an obviously inhuman being call me 'unique' isn't exactly refreshing."

"Well, you come from a world different to this one, judging by the form your consciousness took in here. For I don't recognize that architecture as being from this world, it is far too advanced for anyone to have built here. To be honest, you shouldn't even be able to comprehend my form, or take any actions in this state. It must be thanks to the fact that have not been in contact with mana for the majority of your life," Daydream answered. She then raise her hand for her sword, hovering it at her side. Seemingly noticing the intrigued expression on Maxwell's face, she continued, "To be honest, I was going to meet with you later on, but... certain circumstances forced this event."

"Like what?" Maxwell asked, his eyes flickering from the storm in the distance back to the woman in front of him. To think that this was his manifested conscious or something to that effect. _That. Explain... forgetful feeling... in noggin._ He had to take a few seconds to bring himself together.

Daydream shook her head. "Well, it's not exactly information that I can allow you to have. But the reason I'm here at this _moment_ is because I have to sever your consciousness' connection to this plane. Leaving a human mind to wander about in here would not do well for either me or you." She rose her sword, high above her head.

"How about we flip pancakes about this first? Severing minds isn't exactly good for well... my mind!" Maxwell exclaimed, grinning despite himself. Although he knew he wasn't one with his 'true' body, he was still a _slight_ apprehensive about having someone cleave right through him. _Who wouldn't be?_

The woman ignored him. "This may cause a bit of discomfort in the beginning, but it shall not harm your mortal body. I am sure we will meet again in the future, if you continue on your path that this." She smiled before bringing her hand down, her sword slashing through Maxwell faster than he could react.

He was about to yell out in pain, but stopped as he realized he didn't fell any pain at all. Despite the sword cutting him into identical halves, he felt nothi- _Wait, I'm dissolving!_ Maxwell floated up into the sky in multiple microscopic pixels, carried by an invisible force, his shape no longer holding a human-like form.

The city, along with the woman waving below, faded into a clouded darkness.

* * *

Maxwell opened his eyes. He felt around on his body, internally sighing in relief when he realized he was still in one piece. In the distance he could hear the sounds of nature and morning birds. The outsider got up and made way for the entrance.

 _Well, that was a lot to take in for a night's sleep. All this talk about consciousnesses and Abysses and such... It could drive a guy off to the edge of a cliff! Good thing I'm nowhere near any cliffs though,_ Maxwell thought, stretching out his body to the heavens. _Strange, my body feels awfully refreshed... must be the lack of mental processes completed._

"Fine mornin' we have here, fellow brethren," Maxwell greeted with a cheerful tone, unable to contain his newfound energy. A good body's makeover could do wonders for the mind. _What I could do for a coffee mug just about now._ He purposely ignored the bags of skin under both of their eyes. "You two slept well, yes?"

Alice frowned, contrasting Maxwell's widening grin. "Ha ha, very funny. I may have to make you my jester one day, a jester stuffed in a clown suit and animated to dance for the rest of its pitiful existence," she threatened.

"So... a good morning, we have here," Maxwell responded lightly, ignoring Alice's obvious threat. Getting too worked up in the morning was something that he found to be far more trouble than it was worth. Getting _other_ people worked up however, that was fair game.

With that the group had breakfast, packed up and set off for Iliasport. They got there with little difficulty. The place was the same as Maxwell had remembered it: People milling around aimlessly, a run down town and a stench that threatened to permanently numb his nose. The trio quickly made their way to the docks, hoping to find someone that would give them a ride. However, they were met with only no's and shaken heads. It seemed that no one was neither dumb nor suicidal enough to give the trio a ride on what they believed would be their last.

"Maybe the people need a little _something_ to get them acting," Maxwell suggested, after they had been rejected for the tenth time. Seeing Luka slowly rise up against, he raised up his arms in armistice. "No, I don't mean beating them into a pulp... we wouldn't have anyone to give us a ride and I doubt anyone of us knows how to control boats. Though I could try, and... get us topside. We will be using this." The outsider reached into his pocket and pulled out a massive cloth pouch, one clearly overflowing with coins.

"...How did you get all those coins?" Luka asked, his brow raised with suspicion.

"I took up a little side quest when we separated, guy was loaded and was fine to share his funds with me," Maxwell said with much boastfulness. He looked up to his pouch of coins as if it were his child. "With the power of the economy, I will sway people over to our cause."

Alice frowned, folding her arms under her breasts. "Good luck with that," she huffed. She was now in her 'human' form, her lamia body non-visible.

Maxwell nodded and put his best grin as he walked over to the group of sailors playing cards around a barrel. He singled out the captain- who had noticed him coming -wearing a ragged white naval uniform. "I come to you laddies with a proposition, you hear?"

"You are the group of fools wandering asking for someone to give you a ride, I assume?" The captain replied, his tone rough, clearly from many years out on the sea. His companions briefly looked up from their cards, before returning to their game. "Well, I'll let you know that you should just give up where you are no..."

He trailed off upon seeing Maxwell flow coins into his hands. The outsider grinned as the captain's companions followed suit. _Yes_ _, it's working. Just as planned._ Maxwell had assumed that with the fact that there wasn't much business going in Iliasport, there were people willing to do almost anything to make a quick buck. And clearly, he had just stumbled upon that very group of people.

Maxwell faked a saddened expression. "You see, I'd be glad to pay you handsomely, but if you insist in your inability to bring us out to sea... I'll have to look for another capta-"

"I, Captain Welfred will take it!" The captain interjected, rising up from his makeshift chair. "Right, men?!"

"Yaahh...?!" The sailors halfheartedly cheered as they ran off, most likely gathering more of their crew members. They did this with much haste, not arguing against their captain in the slightest sense.

"Glad to see you agreed with my little idea, we could always go back if we're in trouble, like you must've done the other times you tried to set sail." The outsider grinned. Things had gone much better than he thought they'd go. He expected that he'd be met with at least _some_ resistance, luckily for him, he ran into people who were desperate for money even more than he was. He then turned back to Luka and Alice behind him, and gave a thumbs up. "See guys, money does wonders in the world. Especially against the poor and needy!"

Luka sighed. "Well, I can not agree with the way you did this, but at least we have a ride now."

"Lead us to the ship, matey!" Maxwell gave the captain a hearty pat on the back.

The storm outside the harbor seemed to increase in intensity as the group approached the harbor. The winds began howling, pelting everything and everyone in its radius with heavy rains. The water itself almost seemed more aggressive, rocking the ships docked in the harbor and even throwing a few against the stone seawall.

Maxwell closed his squinted his eyes, due to all the water flying through the air. "I see the water does not like us, yes!?" He had to raise his voice in order to be heard over the bashing of ships.

The captain nodded as he lead the trio down the wooden docks until he gestured to a ship at the end of one of them. "Ah yes, it's been like this for many a months, now you lads can see what we mean by the storm stopping others from going out to sea."

It was a wooden sailing ship, one that looked similar to the ones around it. However it had a few differences outlying it from the others: more masts a larger size, and it seemed to be in good shape There were dozens of men in ragged sailor wear running around on it or prepping up the ship.

Maxwell was careful to watch his step as to not fall off the dock, as it was slippery from all the water and waves kept crashing against it.

A sailor noticed their approach and ran up to the captain, yelling, "I know we need the money but are you out of your mind, Captain?! If we go out into that there storm, we're sure to be topside!"

Welfred took up the issue with his subordinate, marching up and grabbing him by the collar, lifting him up to his own face. "You dare speak to your captain like this?! I took up life by the sea, and I sure as damned to Ilias, I'm going to lay in it as well! If you are but a cowardly rat, I'll allow you to run with ya tail between your legs right now!" He shoved the man hard enough to make him stumble and fall unto the dock.

The group followed after the captain as he walked up the plank into his ship, his crew member not far behind him.

Another sailor looked down from the mast. "But we've tried this before! And were nearly capsized _each_ time!" Welfred seemed lost as he was met with this retort and the various crew members murmuring in agreement.

"Wait, but it's different now! You're chances of survival are at... about 60%!" Maxwell shouted, silencing the crew. He then plucked the bell out of Luka's hands and made his way to the center, holding the bell up for all to see. "With the power of Poseidon's Bell, all storms and raging waves are but naught! We will be unbreakable, unbeatable, impossible to be stopped!"

"Lad, is that..?"

The bell, now aboard the ship, began glowing lightly and the ship's rocking almost completely stopped. The crew fell silent as if they were witnessing a miracle and dropped to their knees. They then collectively began uttering praises to Ilias, while Welfred took the bell from Maxwell and inspected it himself.

"By Ilias... this must be blessed by Ilias! We have been blessed by the goddess, men! Now let's get to work and off this harbor, this ship won't sail itself!" He yelled with much gusto. The crew quickly scrambled over to their respective duties. "And now that is how you stop a mutiny in the happening. Now if you don't mind I'm going to place this bell in our most secure quarters, we can't have this fall off the ship, now that'd be a catastrophe!"

"Of course, of course, we'd hate to go offline." Maxwell nodded without much reason, standing still in place.

"Well, allow me to show you lads your quarters," the Captain said, walking off towards the cabin. He motioned for Maxwell and the others to follow him. "You'd just get in the way with all the excitement in the air."

* * *

Maxwell sat on the bow, munching on stale bread that had been softened by his newfound tears. Behind him, Luka and Alice trained with their blades and hands. The outsider, despite bargaining for the best deal he could get, ended up giving away about 120 of his stored coinage. He inwardly cringed as he placed each and every coin atop of the captain's desk.

The storm seemed to ignore the ship as it sliced through the water. Maxwell sighed as he felt the wind blow against him, providing a counter to the sun high in the sky. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane, with a storm raging all around him and the ship remaining still and calm. He leaned back against a mast, seeing the moon slowly take the sun's place as it rose in the sky.

"Ahh, need some more food." Maxwell's stomach grumbled as he hopped of the bow. _I paid to take this ride, might as well exploit it for all its worth._ He hobbled past Alice and Luka, making his way down to the storage. But when he was moving down the stairs, the ship began rocking wildly, causing him to stumble and fall flat on his stomach. Seconds later, the ship went still, as if the previous rumbling had been just an illusion. "So this was that big bad storm they were talking about. Nothing... eh, couldn't handle."

Maxwell pushed himself up from the ground and opened up a nearby container of... "What are these? Rations?" The outsider held up a piece of food that looked like it were blended together with other various pieces of food. He gave it an experimental sniff: it didn't smell like it'd rot off his nose in the next hour. Next, he gave it an experimental lick. _Hmm, doesn't taste too bad. Could do with some salt... or sugar._

Deciding that it didn't taste too bad, Maxwell took a big bite out of it. He chewed on the piece for a while, feeling it move around his mouth until he finally swallowed it. "Nothing really special, taste like dollar tree tier bread Which means, it's all for the taking!" He then took several other pieces of the rations, and made his way up the stairs. Spotting a few stylus', Maxwell pocketed them also. _You never know what you might get a surprise quiz on human anatomy._

Entering through the top, Maxwell noticed that storm seemed to have increased in power, the clouds around the ship darkening even more, with lighting visible in the horizon as it connected from cloud to cloud in an arc. Luka and Alice still appeared to be training, despite the weather. "Horrible tidings await us, captain?!" Maxwell had to raise his voice in order to be heard over the storm. A few droplets of rain got into his eyes, causing him to curse and wiped away at the invaders.

"It's all for naught! We still got wind and our boat's in good shape, yes she is! We'll be fine!" Captain Welfred yelled back, standing by the wheel. He was twisting and turning it, ever so often, in accordance to the waves.

Maxwell grinned warily as he stared straight up into the sky above him. As he suspected, the storm worked in a manner similar to a hurricane, as he could still get a clear view of the moon, providing him with a natural light source. But there was something that caught his eyes, a humanoid silhouette appeared to quickly cross the sky, moving from one part of the storm to another. _No, that couldn't be right. What human would willingly fly into this storm? Other than me or course: them winds feel real nice from here._

Shaking his head, he made way to the mast and dug his fingers into the groves as he began to scale it. He sure to watch his step, lest he slip and fall flat on his head. And most importantly, he ignored the other crew members shouting at him, crying out warnings of death. Now atop of the mast, he squinted his eyes and focused his vision on the sky. However he didn't see anyone or anything flying this time around. _Huh, dude on the moon must've have take a breeeeaaa-!_

The outsider suddenly threw himself to the side, and evidently, off the mast as well. Maxwell rolled when he hit the ground, breaking his fall. Luka ran up to his side, and helped him up to his feet. "Are you okay?" The hero asked, as he grabbed Maxwell's hand, pulling him up.

"Yea, Oswell. Though I doubt whoever was trying to get me had much fun either," He answered, taking out a piece of food from his pocket. Maxwell looked back up towards the mast. He noticed that the storm seemed to have lowered in power around their ship.

His attacker had long purple hair that was flowed down past her chest, stopping at her hips and two thick white horns stuck out on the sides of her head. Around her neck was a silver collar with multiple gems that held up a blue cape. Beneath that, there was a corset with two buttons restraining her impressive breast and only a thong covering her nether regions.

But what Maxwell was focusing on, were the inhuman features on her body, two large purple wings and a long thick, similarly colored tail. It seemed to be a separate living entity, as it's mouth gaped open and closed, mucus dripping out as it did so.

 _That's one freaky, deeky Succubus,_ Maxwell thought.

"Why, hello there~," the Succubus said in a sickeningly sweet tone. She then disappeared from view, reappearing as a vortex atop the bow. She then pointed her tail in Maxwell's direction. "I see that you jumped to avoid me... now why would you go and do something like that? It's just no fun~ I juuuussst wanted to see the boy who caught Alice's eye... and _play with him_ as well~," she pouted.

"So, you're just a pest?" Maxwell responded abruptly, unphased by her little speech.

"Well, that depends on what you mean by pest..." The succubus leaned over, exposing more of her bust. She grinned, her crimson eyes locking with Maxwell's own. "I can be the one that's annoying... or the one that _devours_ you whole. Not like it matters anyway, I'm going to be playing with you two no matter as per Alice's orders."

"Alma, those were _not_ my orders," Alice responded with a neutral tone, shaking her head slowly. She was by the wheel, standing in her human form. "Did you _forget_ them or are you just trying to _fool_ around here?"

"Whatsoever do you mean, Lord Alice?" Alma placed a confused expression on her face. "I'm just dealing with these meddlesome heroes that are obviously going to harm more monsters in the future... it's all self-defense."

"So you're the heavenly knight, Alma Elma, the one who's behind the storm, stopping poor travelers from getting food!" Luka yelled, his voice filled with resolve and determination. He took out his sword and pointed it at the Succubus. "With the power of my blade, I'll stop you from doing this any longer! No one shall be victim of your unjust doings any longer!"

 _"Queen_ Succubus." She giggled, her eyes playfully observing Luka. "Why why, that's very narrow-sighted of you _hero_. I thought you'd be able to think about all those so poor monsters being killed by heroes." She then winked at him. "Now, how would you like to be violated~? With my tits~? Maybe I'll give you a handjob or even a blowjob~? Or maybe you'd enjoy a threesome with your friend over there~"

Luka recoiled in disgust to all her suggestions, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth, as he moved into a fighting stance.

Maxwell on the other hand, yawned, purposely exaggerating it to attract Alma Elma's attention. "Now now, these all sound like fine suggestions, but for some reason, I just don't like them. It's like: let's say I have a really nice slab of meat in front of me, like top level perfection... but I don't feel like eating it. Instead I just take the meat and freakin' shred n' trash it. So, it's something like that." He stuck a hand in his pocket while taking another bite of the ration.

"Is that so~" She shot a glance at Alice and hummed in thought. "Then I think I'll make it fair and give you two a fighting chance~ I'll beat you my tail alone~ No hands, feet, or magic, just my one and only tail~"

"What happens if we win?" Luka asked.

"Well, I'll leave when I get bored playing with you~" Her expression went serious and she took on a dark tone. "But _will_ never happen. I'd leave you two with _broken minds_ far before that ever happened."

 _Giving us 'broken minds'? Well, it'd be hard to break a mind... that has already broken._ Maxwell's form blurred as he darted behind a mast, using the cover to find a point of attack.

Luka steadied his blade, then rushed forward to take her down. However, his first swing was easily deflected her tail. Seeing this, Luka swung at her at multiple angles and the Succubus casually batted his sword aside each wing, gaining insignificant scratches on her tail.

"Is this really the best you can do, Luka boy~? I thought you were going to fight me, not _entertain_ me~" Alma rose her tail before suddenly flicking it in Luka's direction, covering him in a spray of mucus. A putrid smell suddenly filled the air, and caused Maxwell's nose to wrinkle in discomfort.

However, it seemed to have a different effect on Luka, who tried to wipe it off his face, but only ended up blushing instead. He backed up a bit, before running back towards her.

Maxwell quickly darted to the back of another mast, swiping his arm in her direction horizontally. From his hand, there flew multiple metal styluses, all of which that flew at a speed far faster than what any normal human could throw them at. _Ruler of all Angular Rotation 'The Top'!_ The outsider laughed as he released the stylus' from his grip. This was _his_ power, the foundation of his very strength.

The styluses manged to pierce through her tail with ease, much to the Succubus's visible shock. She quickly brought back her tail and inspected the wound. Blood trickled out as if it were a miniature waterfall, but Alma didn't seem to bothered by the sight.

"How did you do that?" She asked, sounding genuinely curious. She pulled out each and every one of the styluses, wincing a bit as she did so. They fell on the deck, bloodied. "A normal human would not be able to do something like this to me. Is it magic? Some kind of body strengthening spell? Oh~ I just feel like breaking you now and figuring out for myself~"

Luka seized her moment for distraction as a chance for attack, swinging his sword downwards towards her tail. "Demon Decapitation!"

The heavenly knight moved her tail out of the way, it's form blurring as she struck Luka against his stomach. He was sent reeling across the deck and flew past Maxwell, who stuck out a hand and grabbed him before he could go any further. The sudden force on his arm threatened to pull him back with Luka, but he latched on tight to the mast and refused to budge.

"Woah, watch your step there, Luka buddy!" Maxwell exclaimed, grinning insanely as he pulled Luka back up to his feet. He then stuck his right hand back in a pocket, pulling out a single stylus and flicked it as if it were a coin. He pointed the sharp end at Luka, causing him to back off, an unnerved expression on his face. "Next time around, you might hit your head and just _die_! That's it, ke-ploot! Light's out, you're down on this plane, no longer needed! Curtains closed for life! He he he...! Ha ha ha!"

"Did you two happen to forget about little ol' me~ It's quite rude to ignore your opponent during battle~" Alma Elma whined, raising her tail up in the air. It gaped open, releasing an overwhelming nauseous scent. Mucus dripped out in excess, much like drool from a hungry dog.

"Quite the contrary!" Maxwell shouted in mad glee, his grin nearly stretching to the far outreaches of his mouth. The stylus began to spin on his finger, much like a helicopter's propellers. "You're not going to leave without any more holes in the tail of yours! I reckon it'll make for some _real_ nice decor!"

Without warning, she disappeared from view, only to reappear in front of him. "Well that's not very nice of you, _h_ _ero_ ~ I'll be sure to fix that attitude of yours real quick~" Maxwell didn't miss hidden edge under her voice. This time her tail attempted to wrap itself around Maxwell, but the outsider dodged the attack, pushing himself against the mast and backflipping away from the appendage.

What he didn't dodge, was the mucus on the ground. The outsider slipped over the substance, which mixed with the water already on the deck, made it nigh-impossible to regain balance. The Queen Succubus took advantage of his troubles and struck him on the chin.

Maxwell nearly blacked out as his body tried to withstand the sudden force on his jaw. He was sent flying into the air, but managed to regain his senses and latch on to the mast before returning back to the deck. _Man, that was close! If I touched the ground with that blow, I might've found myself in quite a doozy!_ However, he was still grinning, as if he had just experienced the greatest event in his life.

The hero had taken his blade and was now swinging haphazardly at Alma's tail. She parried each and every blow without breaking a sweat.

"Hero, you better do than this~" The heavenly knight said, mockingly grinning at him. She acted as if the whole this was one big game to her and Luka wasn't giving it all he had. "That is... if you _want_ to win~ Maybe you do wish to lose to me and you're just too embarrassed to admit it~"

 _While she's dealing with him..._ Reaching into his pocket, Maxwell held out a stylus between two of his fingers, as if it were a chopstick. Then without explanation, he kicked himself off the mast and twirled around once more, releasing the stylus as he did so. He landed behind the mast, hands in both pockets. _Damn, only two more left? Better make these two last then._ The writing utensil twirled as it flew towards the Queen Succubus with speed that could rival an arrow. Maxwell latched on to a nearby mast, its slick coat of water allowing for an easy way down.

Gritting his teeth, Luka leaped into the air and swung down his sword with the power of gravity aiding him. This time he managed to lay what seemed like a lasting blow to her tail, but the hero quickly had his legs wrapped up by her tail, and was soon hanging under her. All of this happened in the time span of a few seconds.

"So nice of you to join me, Luka-boy~ It seems that you had failure on your mind all along~" Alma licked her lips as she brought Luka up to her eye level. "I promise you'll enjoy this as much as I do~ I'll make sure to make that a reality~"

And that was when the stylus made contact with her-

The Queen Succubus whipped her tail around and tried to block the projectile with the gaping mouth.

It was no use.

The stylus just flew through without any resistance, -leaving a see-through hole in her tail- as if there wasn't anything in its path in the first place. The utensil seemed to have a clear path to her chest, more specifically her _heart_. Maxwell let out a chortle as he saw them fly. _Twas' the end of you, Succubus! Night night, knight!_

But his wishes did not come to past. Alma Elma reached out with newfound speed and grasped the stylus right as it was about to dig itself into her chest. The utensil didn't take the sudden stop in momentum without a fight, threatening to whirl itself out of her grip and latch itself into her heart. "What a _nuisance_. " She then crushed the stylus between her fist, opening it to reveal slightly peeled back skin.

Maxwell didn't waste his time sitting around, he leaped up in the air, towards Luka. "Ruler of all Angular Rotation 'The Top'!" Taking the Queen Succubus by surprise, he tapped her tail as he activated his power, unraveling it like a coil and releasing Luka from her grip. The hero fell on his feet as he literally hit the deck, slightly freezing as he dealt with sudden shock from hitting the ground.

"Well, aha, it looks like I lost," she chuckled, stopping Luka from moving forward and dealing another attack.

"Eh..?! How... I didn't seal you yet," Luka responded, raiding an eyebrow.

"Y- Yeah! You didn't lose!" Maxwell frowned as he took out another stylus, twirling it on his index finger. He then faked a disappointed look. "I didn't get to carve yo- I mean, truly battle you! It'd be unfair for us to have such an easy victory, y'know! Honor and all that jazz!"

"Silence, Maxwell," Alice said sternly. For the duration of the fight, she had been sitting by the captain, who looked like he'd seen better days in his life. "She's giving you two, a free pass out, so to say. It'd be foolish for mere humans to fight Alma at her full power."

"Y'know, maybe I'll stay no-" The Queen Succubus began.

"No. Leave now. I'm not going to play around with your games, Alma," Alice said sternly.

The Queen Succubus glanced at the two, like a predator being denied food right in front of it. As if she weren't prepared to leave in the first place. Annoying Alice, must've been one of her pastimes, but it seemed even _she_ knew where not to cross the line. "Next time we fight, Luka-boy and black-hair over there, I'll be a serious opponent. If you two lose, I'll treat you two to a hellish pleasure." With that, she took off into the air, speeding away far quicker than any plane Maxwell had ever seen.

The storm around the ship slowly dissipated, confirming her as the cause behind it.

"I... we won... and against a heavenly knight?!" Luka seemed surprised at himself, staring at his own reflection in his sword. "Maxwell, are you okay? I thought you were acting... a bit stranger than... usual today during the fight."

Maxwell grinned, batting a hand in Luka's direction. "Naw, I'm fine Oswell. Though that tail to the jaw gave me quite a shock. Still surprised I don't see or feel any bleeding down there... maybe there's some internal damage. Well, nothin' I can't handle, though."

Luka walked over to the captain and Alice to probably talk over things Maxwell had little interest in, such as damage and well-being.

The outsider sat against one of the masts and twirled a stylus as he thought about the events that had just transpired. But mostly on _what_ he had fought. For most of his life, he had wondered what it'd be like, what's he'd feel to meet someone similar to him, an individual who enjoyed free-movement, to do as they wished in the world. Maxwell clenched the stylus as he grinned darkly. Now he knew what his answer was- It was an overwhelming desire to _crush and destroy_ said individual. A desire to **_fight_** them to the very end.

Maxwell smiled bitterly. He had guessed that if faced with himself, he'd never be able to stand it... but just not to this extant. But it did not exactly come as a surprise to him, as if there was one thing he _couldn't_ stand, it was a copycat. Someone pretending, or trying to be like him, was someone _leeching_ of off him and his character: one of the few things The Outsider genuinely cherished as a living being. And that just did _not_ go well in his playbook.

 _But this means she must have the potential... the potential to be free..._ Maxwell stared at a broken part of the dock. _But killing a copycat would be a very satisfying thing. Should I kill her, or should I free her? It'll come down to one of those two options... and quick frankly, killing sounds like a pretty nice idea._

With a blank expression on his face, he stood up and began to pick up each of the styluses dropped on the ground. If one were to look into his eyes at this very moment, they would find them wide, yet empty.

Filled with rage, yet the warm and hopeful look of a messiah.


	14. Mapping Bombs

It was night-time, so Maxwell found himself sitting in the little cabin he allowed himself to be led to. He was laying awake in the undersized bed. The recent events made it quite hard for him to fall into slumber, though that did not seem to be the case with Luka, who was lightly snoozing away in the room next to him. His own room was much smaller than the one he had in the inn, to the point that he had to slightly crouch in order to move around in it: that is, if he didn't want to drag his head across the ceiling. He had laid the fallen styluses on the little table by his bed for easy access, not bothering to wash off the blood on them.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

 _Hmm? Wonder who that could be... hell, it's not like I have anything better to do._ Maxwell sat up in bed and said, "Come yonder in, mysterious one."

The door opened, revealing Alice, now in her monster form. With most of the crew either sleeping or on deck, there wasn't much risk of anyone finding her like this. Though Alice reassured that even if they did, she could just override their memories with her eyes. "So Maxwell, you seemed to be using some kind of trick with those styluses of yours when you were fighting Alma Elma." Her yellow eyes lightly glowed in the dark cabin.

A bead of sweat ran down the back of Maxwell's neck. He knew this questioning would happen one day, but this was happening at least a few years too early for him to be comfortable with this. He cleared his throat, preparing to talk bullshit. "Well, I don't know what you mean, miss Monster Lord. It was just a bit of the little adrenaline running through this frail human body of mine. You'd be surprised to see what we can do as a species when the threat of attack is a abroad," he responded, faking a weak-willed and outgoing tone.

"Adrenaline, _**my ass**_ ," Alice coolly replied, causing slight shivers to go up Maxwell's spine. He remained rooted to his spot on the bed. "I know from _experience_ , that it would take much more than a little extra strength coming from a mere human to puncture a hole into Alma's tail. I'd suspect that you know magic of some kind, but I haven't yet to have sensed the slightest bit of mana from you."

"W- Why, that's because I was using those bothersome wind currents! Yes, that's it, I just used that damn Succubus's own wind against her! That was such a trouble storm out there, winds were mighty out there," Maxwell said, staying with the easygoing tone from before. He had went with this story, as he had seen the same thing happen back on _his_ Earth... only with ginormous planes in the sky using wind currents for lift and streamlining. _Not quite the same thing, but it's a similar concept. Close enough for me!_

"I see... so using one's power over the wind against them..."

"Also, I got a question for you." Not waiting for a response back, Maxwell continued. "Do you happen to know of the whereabouts of Alma Elma's headquarters. Like her home, place of residence, area of lurking?"

Alice stared at him with a dangerous glint in her eye. "Now exactly _why_ would you want to go searching for her? It'd be suicidal for human to do so." The hidden pressure behind her tone didn't go unnoticed.

"It's always good to be prepared for battle at any cost! I'll just scout out the area, y'know, for Luka's survival!" Maxwell awkwardly grinned. He wasn't sure Luka would appreciate being his scapegoat, but this was information he desired and desperately needed. He'd pay Luka back another time... such as in a future life.

The Monster Lord folded her arms. "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure on her whereabouts. She isn't the type of monster to stay in one place for very long. I'd tell you check Succubus Village, but even that wouldn't be an exact answer..." The room went dark as she shut her eyes and slithered back into what was presumably her room.

 _Now I got the Succubus whereabouts and we lost the previous topic. Now that's what I call a win-win deal for the both of me._ Maxwell laid his head back down on the bed and stared into the ceiling. The ship's gentle rock slowly lulled him into sleep.

* * *

The sun was just about to rise over the horizon when Maxwell caught sight of land. More specifically, another port. Even from a mildly far distance, it was easy to tell the port was bustling with activity and business, with ships docking and leaving as their ship approached. The docks were filled with people, humans and mermaids, all scrambling to unload ships, move cargo from one place to another or load cargo unto their own ships. The outsider was surprised to see a primitive version of a crane aiding with cargo. Why they didn't just use magic was beyond him.

The docks themselves were wooden, just as the ones back as Iliasport had been, albeit with less wear and tear. Then again, there wasn't a raging storm going on at the new port, after all. This one had more development done on it, as there were a few massive stone walkways with massive ships next to them. The city behind it seemed to have been built with the sea in thought, with it being built alongside both warehouses and port.

This was Washington D.C. in comparison to the other towns Maxwell had seen previously.

However, the ship _he_ was on had to stop and Captain Welfred dropped an anchor into the water. A small rowboat came up to the ship and the turned tail as Welfred followed behind it. Maxwell later learned that she was the harbormaster and had came up to get a fee before leading the ship to a free spot on the docks. The moment they set anchor, the crew began unloading cargo of the ship. It appeared that despite being several months late, cargo still had to find its place in the harbor.

"Well, here we lads!" Captain Welfred sneaked up on Maxwell and Luka, giving them both hearty pats on the back. "Welcome to Port Natalia, a place filled with humans and monsters alike... those of the fishy variety, of course." His tone went bitter towards the end of his sentence.

"Ahh, monsters and humans living together peacefully," Luka commented. He seemed both impressed and ecstatic that his dream for coexistence had actually managed to happen in at least one part of world without any interference. "So coexistence is possible..."

"Yes, it is... and that happens to be quite a problem," The captain said bitterly, slightly grinding his teeth. Luka turned towards him expectantly, causing Welfred to frown. "What? It's true that the mermaids are quite a hassle... one of your crew go and marry them and then they're gone! No longer with their Captain, the rest of their mates, or life on the ship! They become landlubbers, the lot of them!"

"Landlubbers. So such insults are transcendent between worlds..." Maxwell reflected. Captain Welfred didn't respond to this, as he had already turned back to his crew and was barking out orders. They could hear his rough barking as they made their way down the docks and into the city.

* * *

"We should restock our supplies while we're here and then head to San Ilia," Luka began to plan out, as they made their way through the crowds of humans and mermaids. "I remember hearing about there being a bishop over there."

Maxwell held in contained laughter as he looked throughout the crowd. Mermaids were propped up on their back of their tails and were awkwardly shuffling around as if they were walking. The ones who couldn't manage to complete this act were forced to drag themselves along the ground on the outstretches of the crowd in order to avoid accidentally getting stepped on. It was as if he were in the middle of a circus act and the seals suddenly learned how to walk.

"A bishop who happens to be mighty high in both power and wealth," Alice grumbled. "Obviously, he is the greatest person to relate with a hero." She said the last part with unbridled sarcasm.

"I'd like to meet him," Luka continued, ignoring Alice's snark remark. "I hear he gives great wisdom and blessings to any hero who visits him. Though, I'm not baptized, so I wonder if he'd bless me or even see me."

"Well that's nice and all, but I really need to get myself a map of this continent." Maxwell didn't plan on sticking around with Luka much longer. He had his _own_ ambitions and wishes, ones that didn't call for endless piece around the world. The man reason he had followed Luka to Iliasport was because he needed a way off the continent. Remaining stranded in one relatively smaller continent wouldn't do well for him. He then turned to Luka. "Would you happen to know where I could find myself large scale map?"

"No, you'd have to ask someone else about that," Luka responded absentmindedly. He had stopped walking and was now staring into the crowd, his brow furrowed in concentration. He seemed to be looking for someone.

"Uh, mate, Oswell buddy..." Maxwell jabbed his torso with his elbow to gain his attention. "You playing 'I spy, with my little eye'? I mean, we haven't exactly started the game yet, but I'm always up for an alternate version."

"No..." Luka squeezed his fist. "I think I saw Lazarus."

"Nice name. Is he a friend of you-" Maxwell began to ask before getting cut off by an explosion.

All of a sudden, the marketplace seemed to shake. Rubble fell from above as the buildings nearby began to break apart and fall. Maxwell paid no mind to Luka, quickly taking off in the direction of the explosion. Luka was not that far behind him, running towards to explosion's epicenter, as well. Splintered wood and pulped fruit flew towards him as he shoved himself through the crowd.

"Ahh! What's this?!"

"Oh, no! The mermaid school!" A mermaid screamed, in terror. Other mermaids followed her gaze and then began running towards the fallen building at the other end of the plaza.

"Man, what happened?!" A man yelled out furiously, arms raised towards the sky.

"I don't know, sir..." Maxwell drawled out, gaining both animosity and glares from the crowd around him. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. _Huh? So people don't appreciate good ol' fashioned humor these days._ He then continued with his sentence, slowly tapping the side of his head. "Sounded like a bomb, like Ka-Boom! You can even smell the gunpowder from here... and plus, remember the big boom?"

Luka glowered, his fist trembling with barely contained rage. "Just what do you _think_ you're doing? Making a joke with all these people's lives in trouble... maybe you were trying to lighten up the mood, but... I got to go." He ran towards the collapsed building with and extra 'umpf' in his step.

Maxwell took a moment to reflect on what Luka had said to him. He didn't know anyone that had got caught in the blast, it wasn't like their lives exactly mattered to him. He had read once that every minute about 100 or so people die on Earth everyday. Obviously those people didn't matter to the commonday human when it happened without their knowledge, and even the chances that you would be related to one of them were minuscule. But morals aside, Maxwell didn't even share a single speck of blood with any living thing currently in the world he had been transported to.

With his thoughts completed, he followed after Luka, grabbing a nearby scorched stick that was longer than him. He then planted the stick into the ground as he was running, using it as a way to vault himself over the crowds of people. The stick broke as soon as he shifted his weight unto it, causing him to awkwardly fly through the air with the grace of a dead wombat. He tried to ignore the stares he got from the people below. _Jeez, now the seals have become the watchers at my new circus._ He awkwardly landed on all fours, wincing as he suddenly felt weight on his wrists and ankles. He slightly buckled under the weight and quickly moved to stabilize himself.

 _Good, I haven't broken anything... now that would've just been a pesky little interference._ He surveyed the scene before him.

Alice was already at the scene, aiding the crowd in removing debris and passing along any injured people, both humans and monster. As a testament to her Monster Lord status, she was effortlessly moving aside wide stones at least six feet in height with just her tail alone. She didn't show the slightest hint of strain on her face, her tail remaining straight and still despite the impressive load atop of it.

Luka had also began his part with helping the locals, carrying a fallen child to the hastily set-up sickbay. However, he nearly dropped the child he was holding in his hands when his eyes came across a silhouette of a man in the smoke. "You..!" The hero said venomously, in a tone Maxwell had never heard from him before. The shadow than ran back into the smoke, disappearing from view.

Maxwell walked up the broken building, ignoring the other that were fleeing from the carnage. It was here that he was going to find what he was looking for.

A hand reached out and grabbed him. It was a sea- mermaid, one with grey hair and a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay? You're walking in the wrong direction: The carnage," her voice had a soothing and caring tone to it.

If Maxwell were a weaker or lesser willed-man, he might've just followed her right to one of the sickbays. However, he had a will of... considerable stiffness. He pushed aside the mermaid, causing her to lose her balance and fall into a waddling position. "I'm awwwlll right in the mind, madam! There's just... something I need to find in this here building, so if you'd _waddle_ aside..." The outsider then lunged into the building and his vision was immediately clouded with smoke.

 _Ruler of all Angular Rotation 'The Top'!_ Maxwell covered his mouth with one hand and held out his other hand, as he allowed for the smoke around him to spin outward. The smoke soon cleared out in a small area around him, allowing for easy access to clean air. It also allowed him to see rooms that previously weren't visible.

The outsider waddled his way through the halls, avoiding charred pieces of wood and any weak points on the floor below. He paused, then looked up for any signs or symbols to guide his path. Just as he expected, there were signs up along the ceiling, though some of them were charred and broken beyond repair. He scanned the signs until he found one that suited his needs: one with a painting of a map on it. _Looks like I found the cartography class! And where's there's a map class, there's maps to be found. Much cheaper than going out and actually buying one._

Maxwell leaped over a mass of fallen stone and wood, backflipping himself against the wall adjacent to him. He landed in the Cartography room, and bowed to the imaginary performers watching him.

"Who are you!"

 _Ok, not so imaginary then._ Maxwell looked up to see a man pointing a sword at him with a gloved hand. He wore a red cape that stopped at his waist and had on a beige shirt and some black pants. He also had some kind of rubber-like material for his boots, as they squeaked and squealed for each step he took.

"Again, just who are you?!" He repeated in a hushed whisper. His eyes seemed to be darting side to side, as if he expected something to suddenly burst from the walls and attack him. "I'll just kill you here and now, for associating with breaking one of Ilias' Commandments: ' _Thou shall not have relations with Monsters_ '."

 _This must that Lazarus fellow Luka was going off about. Didn't think he'd a religious fanatic, usually those are about peace to all the world... kinda like Luka,_ Maxwell thought. He waved futility at the smoke that was climbing up to the ceiling of the room. He then focused his attention on the sword being pointed at him. "Now now buddy, I know you want to play around with that sword of yours, but quite frankly I'm not feeling it today."

The outsider opened up a compartment up by the front of the room, and out came tumbling a large map. _Must be the master one. Teachers always be keeping answer keys near their desks and shit. Hell, it was one of the reasons I got myself so far,_ Maxwell reflected over his own time in school. He didn't have time to check if the same was for this world as well, as the heat was slowly but surely getting to him, and soon they'd be too much smoke and dust in the area for his power to be effective. He quickly folded the map and placed it in his back pocket.

Lazarus stared at him with expectation, then lunged forward, mad fury on his face. He swung his sword in a horizontal fashion, going for a good fashioned beheading strike.

"Oh come on now, this is neither the stage nor the minute for such events." Maxwell ducked under the blow, and casually outstretched his foot, causing Lazarus to trip and fall before him. Such a casual counterattack was only made effective thanks to the limited eyesight in the area. The outsider bent down to meet the bomber's eyes. They glared back at him. Maxwell smiled warmly in response. "Look, if I were a goody-two shoes, a no do wrong hillbicky, I would've been dragging you out to pay for your crimes just about now, but..."

He paused mid-sentence to cough and wheeze, the smoke in the air had gotten to the point where further exposure would be suicide.

"...You're lucky that this blast just so happened to benefit me as well as you, _Lazarus_." The robed man's eyes widened in shock. The outsider smirked, taking on a polite, sweet tone. "Now, I got things to be doing, a woman to be hanging, a map to be mapping: playing in your little suicide bomber fantasies are not part of them. You catch my drift? Well, I do hope we have a more merry explosion next time around, this one was a bit out of play if you ask me." Maxwell ran towards the room's side window and threw himself out of it, not caring for what laid outside of it. Luckily, there was only a stretch of grass outside the room.

Groaning, he prompted himself up against one of the few places where the wall hadn't been blown into pieces. Haughh... _man... I, Hauggghhh, didn't know I...! Hoouaghh! Loved Oxygen this much..._ His mouth gaped wide and long, he couldn't get enough of clean air, not that he'd been exposed to it.

After taking a few minutes to catch his breath and filter out his system, Maxwell ran to find a place to look over his map.

* * *

That was how he found himself at an Inn a couple minutes later. Maxwell made sure to grab a place that was 'quite a few distances' away from the school, lest he ran into the schoolteacher who owned the map. From what he had overheard, there had been no causalities. Apparently mermaid blood was quite effective at healing injuries, with most people either stabilized or outright healed completely.

"Your coffee, sir."

A feminine voice dragged Maxwell out of his thoughts and back into the real world. She had black hair and a standard maid uniform: black, white and with ruffles galore. The outsider was surprised to see an actual female human doing work as a maid, as with the proximity of the seashore and prominence of mermaids, he would've expected one of them to take the maid position.

 _Guess people just can't get enough that 'human' touch._ The outsider nodded, sliding 4 gold coins across the table. The maid picked them up and placed the coffee on the table before walking off. Maxwell grabbed the mug and took a swing of the black drink.

He smiled. The drink was just the way he liked it, bittersweet, more on the bitter side, with just a hint of vanilla topping things off. After taking a few moments to bask in its scent, he shifted in his seat. "Time I got to that map of mine," he muttered. Taking out the map, he laid it flat across the table and began inspecting it. According the the map, he was right on the fringes of the San Ilia Region, one of the four regions located on the landmass he was on: the Gold region, the Sabasa region, and the Noah region. Getting the basics down, he then scrounged the map for what he was specifically looking.

He grinded his teeth together in annoyance. "Sheesh, to get over to this Succubus Village- hell, can't believe this place is _actually_ on a map -I got to get over to this Gold region... which just so happens to be conveniently placed behind a large landmass: A mountain range." Maxwell could try his hand at climbing a mountain, as he'd done the act before... on a field trip for school. Age differences aside, on that mountain trek his biggest issues were the birds actively gunning for his food. This time around, the birds would probably be gunning for _him_. Head impaled by rock didn't wasn't an appealable way to die.

The outsider decided that he'd try to cut through the Noah region, which seemed to be a large woodland forest: something he was used to seeing and dealing with on a daily basis. There was some kind of city right in the middle of the region. It'd be a place for him to go and restock on food. He swirled coffee in his mouth. _Speaking of which, I should begin stocking up my gea-_

"I think we'll be staying here tonight."

Coffee nearly flew out of Maxwell's mouth when he saw Alice and Luka walking into the Inn that he was in. Only it was more like Alice was dragging Luka like she usually. _What am I, some kind of beacon? What are they doing here?_ The chances of running into his former group with all the Inns in the area had to be at least 50% or lower. Either some one was playing a prank on him, or he was really down on his luck.

The outsider quickly hid his face behind the map as Alice turned her head, looking through it as if it were a newspaper, except of heading the Morning Comics, he was reading the Y and X axis's. Maxwell could feel her eyes boring through his map, until they were led up the stairs and out of his range of sight. _Ought to begin packing up materials right about now. I'll have to come back here to rest of course, but I'm sure I'd be gone before Alice or Luka figure out._ Maxwell folded up the map before sneaking out of the Inn, coffee in hand.

* * *

Morning came, and with it Maxwell set off. He slid a note under Alice and Luka's doors after tracking down their room. The outsider didn't see the need in giving them needless worry and having search for a carcass of him. He kept the details short and simple, only saying that he'd left to do some exploring at his own pace. He didn't write where he was going, but thanks to the conversation he had with Alice the previous day, she probably would accurately guess where he was heading towards.

The outsider now had a miniature knapsack along with the rest of his gear: the styluses, his money and the two orbs he had obtained on his journey. In it, there were foods of various types, sweets, drinks, a sleeping bag, his money, other miscellaneous items and a fire starter in the shape of a round metallic cage. To his knowledge, the fire starter was activated on the command 'Fire' and was doing this by utilizing the ambient flow of mana in the world through the use of Holy magic. At least, that was what he was told by the shopkeeper.

The important thing was, he didn't need to know _how_ to do Magic in order to work. If that happened to be a requirement, it would've opened up a whole other set of troubles.

"Looks like a one man journey from here on out for the foreseeable future... which isn't exactly visible. Or sure." Maxwell frowned as he stepped over a fallen tree. The future was one of the few.. er, well, many things out of his reach, and was appreciative of that fact. If he kept manipulating events with sheer hax until he held no challenges before him, life would get a bit dull... until someone with even more Overpowered abilities came and whooped him into the next century.

The landscape before him was filled with nothing but a lush woodland forest and rolling hills behind it. However, he could see no mountains in his vision, indicating that he hadn't gone up far North enough.

[00-00-01]

"Up on the railroad, there was a boy... and that boy fell and broke his head! His parents were sad and mad, calling OSHA as they sued~!" Maxwell sung as he cut his way through dense vegetation. The trip hadn't been too eventful so far, his only troubles being the countless plague of mosquitoes that seemed to appear wherever he turned his head.

He did see buildings in the distance quite a few times, indicating he wasn't totally cut off from the outside world... even if the outside world was a couple miles trek away. Maxwell lashed a mark into a tree as he walked passed it, leaving it as a marker of sorts, in the rare case that he needed to trace his way back. He soon made his way out of the forest, and it broke way to... more forest. Of course, getting to the rolling hills would be no quick feat, but now they might as well be light-years away... even if he had only begun his trek at the start of the day.

"Clearly, I would've never been a motivational spokes-"

An arrow suddenly shot out towards Maxwell from no where, and he twisted his body to the left to dodge the projectile. He then leaped to the right, several arrows embedding themselves into the log he had just been standing on. The outsider shifted his weight to one foot, then flung himself forward with increased speed, moving in the direction the arrows had flown from.

"Augh!" A female voice cried out.

He then felt his knee connect with a solid object as he was running by a bush. Reaching out, he latched on the object- which he found to be a face -and punted it with the side of his foot, as if he were playing football. The outsider leaned forward as he looked over the slumped form of his attacker. She was wearing gear unfit for travel, a light green shirt vest, with a black undershirt and tights.

Maxwell looked over her ears. _Just a normal human. I don't get why_ _she'd to attack me._ He sneered mockingly. "Wew lad, I could've broken a finger or four. Maybe you should try getting some face protection next time around. Makes for an all-round defense against knees and headbutts." The outsider picked up the bow and bent it beyond repair.

The sound of fighting in the distance reached his ears. Maxwell left the elf's body for another lucky soul and sneaked through the forest, sticking to the greens and underbush until his found the source of the noises. There appeared to two groups fighting: A caravan and a group of bandits. The amount of people, presumably coming from the caravan numbered greater than the amount of people attacking from all around, but that didn't give them any visible advantage, as some of them were young kids who were hiding inside the carriage.

The bandit leader appeared to be a tall person with no extravagant wear, keeping his clothes plain and simple. He had a sword in his hand, one that was being used to cut down the sword of another of the merchant's companions. It was neither large nor decorated... a weapon built solely for killing.

Maxwell didn't have the slightest intention of stepping in and interfering with the skirmish. Things like this were destined to happen with caravans going around in a forest unregulated with rules. _Sucks to be the ones who didn't hire protection._ The outsider then walked straight forward, ignoring the fight around him. Blades clashing, people groaning, cries of pain. All of which were dulled by the everpresent humming of a non-descriptive song in his head.

As the outsider walked forward, both of the groups in conflict stopped their fighting to turn towards him. Some of them had looks surprise, while others had looks filled with hostile suspicion.

Maxwell smiled warmly while readjusting his pack over his shoulder. "Ah, I'm sorry for interrupting this nice battle of yours. Those are some nice wounds you fellows got on yourselves there, just like a good ol' fashioned Battle Royale at the coliseum, right?" He was met with unimpressed and weirded out looks in return. The outsider planted a platonic frown on his face. "Geez, tough crowd. It's like your lives are in danger or something. Though, it's been nice chatting with you fellows, but I really have a date with a mountain, to be heading towards, kaspeeshaoo!"

He continued walking, cutting through another section of the forest and leaving an awkward atmosphere in his wake.


	15. Survival Mode

**Just looking for feedback here.**

 **Does the story flow together well?**

 **Is it enjoyable so far?**

 **Too much detail, too little detail?**

 **If you just want to ignore this... go along and read the story!**

* * *

Maxwell threw himself forward, leaving the green woodlands behind him. He landed on the ground and began rolling down the green hill, stopping at the bottom. It would've been a more dramatic gesture if it weren't for the bits of twigs and leaves stuffed in his hair. _Ugh, I think I got some dirt in my mouth!_ Getting up, he spat out any grit in his mouth, futility wiping away at his tongue.

But that had been days ago.

The days following his interference at the caravan were without interruption. That is, if one didn't see the countless insects as interruption, which Maxwell did. In retrospect, he was confused by the lack of monsters girls attacking him, but this a clear sign that his conquests were flying out through the world. Which conquests? He didn't know. But the ability to delude oneself into believing false information was astounding.

In the distance, he could see the sun setting over the horizon, signaling the end of his movement for the day. The only things on the hills were small bushes that grew about fifty or so feet away from each other. He sighed in annoyance at the sight of countless bushes all grown in a seemingly straight line. The landsacpe became quite repetitive after his third hour walking. There were plenty of grass to go around. _Seems like I ought_ _to set one of them bushes on fire, I reckon it'll make good firewood_. He reached around and took out the metal Firestarter cage from his pack.

With a stupid grin on his face, Maxwell snapped his fingers and yelled, " _Fire!_ "

With the shout of the command, the metal cage began accumulating light before bursting out in a bright flash of what Maxwell guessed was Holy magic. When he reopened his eyes, he saw that the bush now contained a healthy fire, burning brightly with smoke climbing up to the heavens. With his warmth situation sorted out, the outsider laid his sleeping bag across the ground. Placing his pack down next to it, Maxwell searched through it before pulling out what would be his dinner for the night.

A skewer of meat.

Indeed, pieces of raw beef, dried out beef had been stuck on a stick for one's convenience. Maxwell took a moment to wonder how to meat hadn't spoiled by now, but wrote it off as part of the world's bizarre laws. He held the skewer over the fire. His tongue salivated as he inhaled the smoky scent of roast beef being burned over a fire. The beef sizzled, heat causing its juices to come out of hiding, running down the length of the stick.

Unable to wait any longer, he removed the stick from its post over the burning bush, bringing it over to his awaiting mouth. _Well, I'm not exactly an expert on meat cooking, but this has already been prepared, so it should be ok to eat?_ Instead of taking a tiny tentative bite like any survival expert would do, Maxwell tore off a huge chunk of meat. Immediately, he was met with a kick of flavor, as various spices assaulted him from all angles in his mouth.

"Seems like my predictions were correct." And with that Maxwell continued to chew away at the pieces of meat far into the night, up until he collapsed into slumber, his stomach satisfied with the meal he had obtained.

* * *

The outsider woke up during twilight, when the night sky was slowly lighting up and the sun was beginning to rise just beyond the horizon. Getting up, he checked on the bush, which was now burnt to a fine crisp. The fire seemed to have gone out some time during the night, thanks to its fuel being burned out. Reaching into the bush like he had done the previous mornings, he pushed out the firestarter with a stick, not wanting to burn his hands on the heated metal. With that dealt with, he began his morning rituals. A quick wash-up, breakfast, pack-up and a motivational speech later, he was ready to set off on the metaphorical road.

Soon enough, his walking efforts came to fruition, as he began seeing the telltale signs of a rich city. Maxwell passed by a few large farming farmsteads, as he could see fields filled with nothing but crops and vegetables. There were primitive machines being put at work, ones with lots of pulling and lots of levers.

The communities on the outskirts were practically the rural areas of his world, as the houses were large, yet not very well maintained, indicating a lifestyle that consisted of either heavy labor in the fields or eviction. However, the wealth of the city became more apparent as Maxwell walked closer to the center. _This must be San Ilia,_ Maxwell thought, slightly impressed. Even he could appreciate good architecture every once in a while.

The interior was much like the Vatican City in appearance from what he could tell. The roads were paved, coated by a shimmering white marble and were completely smooth. The houses around him were built in brick and stone, with other buildings surrounding them such as, cathedrals, towers, chapels and churches. The city was bursting with activity, people all shuffling and moving on with their daily lives. The air was filled with the sound of open air merchants yelling out deals to passing people to attract customers and the ever so present buzz of conservation.

As Maxwell made his way to the center of the city, he came across a massive grand cathedral. It seemed to spiral into the sky as its spire pointed up towards the heavens. The building was so large, it looked more like a piece of a castle than it did a place of worship. And its size wasn't the only thing large about it: there was a large line filled with heroes, builders, priests and other assorted folks.

Walking up to a nearby guard in chainmail armor, the outsider asked, "What's up this long ass line? Today's the end of the world or something?" He said in a mocking tone.

"You must be new here, the line's always that long. People come here from all over to have an audience with the king, asking for advice, or to gain access to his highness' great wisdom," the guard responded in a matter-as-fact tone, not rising up to Maxwell's taunt. He then lifted up a clipboard and tapped it with a feathered pen. "If you do wish to speak with the king however, it is mandatory that you sign this sheet and fill out your name."

"No thanks, I have no need to talk with the king, whoever he is." Maxwell waved his hand in a absentmindedly gesture and walked away, ignoring the guard's probing eyes. He turned a corner, his eyes locking with a giant stone statue of Ilias. It depicted the goddess with her hands stretched outwards in a welcoming embrace, wings flared out in all their glory behind her and a halo up above her head. _Judging from that giant statue of a woman, I'm just going to assume this place is Ilias-freak central. A chat with that king would probably Ilias this, Ilias that, ugh. The thought makes me want to puke. I'd rather fellate a shotgun._

The outsider shook his head and gave the statue another look over. It was easily three times his height, so he had to strain his head up in order to get a look at all its features. _Then again, that's a mighty nice statue. But I wonder how nice it'd look if it... given a bit of a readjustment here and there. A touch-up as I like to call it._ Walking up to the Ilias in stone, he knelt down on his knees before it, just as others were doing around him, praying. Maxwell made sure to get into a spot where he was the closest to the pedestal.

Using his jacket as cover, the outsider placed the tip of his finger on the pedestal. _Ruler of All Angular Rotation 'The Top'!_ The outsider activated his power, only allowing it to manifest in the small section of his finger that was touching the statue. It took a while for him to see results, as his power was restricted to a small margin of its strength at the time. Soon enough, he got what he wished for: A small crack appeared where Maxwell's finger was. He removed his hand, shuffling himself back when the cracks were minute in size.

The statue must've been a very old one, as the cracks began spreading like roots, increasing in size and number, up until they reached the halo atop of the angel. The crowd went silent at the sight of this, all heads turning to see the fall of their statue of worship. It began slowly, starting with the halo, then the head, continuing down until the legs were the only thing standing. Then they too crumbled, leaving only broken rock and stone in their wake.

There was sweet silence in the air, up until a bald guy in priest attire fell to the ground, screaming while holding his head. "Blu, Bu... We've had this statue with us for over a millennia... to- t- to, have it fall like thi- Augh augh, Oaaeeh! Eeegh! Wanajah!" The priest had clearly gone mad from shock, now blubbering incomprehensible nonsense.

"How could this be!?"

"Oh Ilias, why would you let this happen to us!?"

"It's the end! Oh, it's the end!"

" **Silence**. We shall not rise to needless panic." A voice rang out through the air, cutting through all the cries from countless others instantly. Most of the crowd all fell to their knees, bowing towards the voice. The owner of the voice walked up to the statue, surrounded by guards on all sides. He looked like he was the pope, wearing white robes with golden stripes on them and a red sash across his shoulders. On his head there was a hat heavily adorned with gold with a purple stripe running around it. His eyes seemed to bore into Maxwell's soul as he felt them settle on him. "This is obviously a sign from Ilias. She is telling us that we are to build a greater and larger statue in its place. One made out of gold and adorned with the finest jewels."

"Yes, yes!"

"Praise Ilias, long live the king!"

"Yoop yoop!"

The crowd rose their hands, still kneeling. Everyone around Maxwell cheered in joy and astonishment.

The king continued. "We must remain vigilant in our faith to the one and only goddess, Ilias! Builders! Construction men! We need to get to work as quick as possible: For Ilias!"

More cries of praise rang through the air as San Ilia's king finished his speech, walking back into the building he had came out of. This time, he was being trailed by builders and construction men of all types, all of which were practically brimming with pride at the king's command.

Maxwell scowled. _Tch, how annoying. The damn priest-king managed to make everything some pleasant message from Ilias. Either he's some influenceful fellow, he gets messages from Ilias on the daily or a combination of both. Damn priest ruining my day, I ought to kill him on the spot_. It took a majority of his willpower not to go and poke a few holes in the priest's head. Doing so would probably not end up so well for him, with all the guards men surrounding the king.

"Hallelujah! Glory to Ilias!"

With a sour mood, outsider made his way through the crowd, shoving aside people who were giving glory to both Ilias and the king. He decided that while his meat supply had been dwindling, going out and restocking it out in the Vatican's twin brother, would not be a wise decision. With all the wealth in the center of San Ilia, the prices for food might just give him a heart attack. Also, getting away before vomiting from all the goddess-priest worship was a big deciding factor in that decision as well.

Maxwell picked up the pace and ran away from some approaching guards, those who had suspected that a little more than 'Ilias' had been responsible for the statue's destruction. Blending into the crowd around him, he made his way into the slums. It only took him about a few minutes to lose sight of the guards, as the sea of people provided the cover he needed to avoid the guards' not so watchful eyes.

Now in the slums, Maxwell continued his way down a cobblestone road, noting the obvious lack of construction done. It was as if the people charged with building the slum roads had just half-assed their way to completion, as there would be stone in one part of the road and plain dirt in another. The outsider caught site of a meat stand selling venison caught and stove-dried in the last few days. With the kind of jerky that had been roasted till it were as hard as a rock.

Walking up to the stand, Maxwell regarded the vendor with a wide, shit eating grin. "Sometimes I just like to look at the sun and knock down statues y'know. Shite's a fun activity."

"So are you going to by anything or not?" The meat vendor asked, frowning while looking at him with an unimpressed stare.

 _It seems the news hasn't reached here, yet. Well, better for me I suppose._ "Ah yes, I must've forgotten. I'll be taking twenty pieces today," Maxwell replied holding up two fingers. He would've held up twenty appendages if he could somehow stay upright with his feet in the air.

"15 gold pieces." The vendor began placing slices of meat into a bag.

"A done deal, my friend." Maxwell dropped the required amount of gold as he picked the bagged piece of meat. _Much cheaper than buying it straight from the rich and well off_. _I enjoy my third hand purchases very much indeed._ The outsider continued moving forward, up until he had finally exited San Ilia.

* * *

The city was much less exciting than he that it would be, with the king managing to bring the crowd back from the edge of self-destruction. _It was funny seeing that priest go mad though,_ he thought with a chuckle. He wondered what would be their reaction if they figured out that it _wasn't_ a sign from their goddess, but rather a disbeliever's stray finger. The scenarios ran from pitchforks, to rioting, to dungeon keeping, up until he had gone with the 0.0001% scenario: Ilias blasting him to hell with a Holy Laser straight from wherever heaven was.

As he traveled over the pass few days, the outsider passed less and less villages and the countryside around him became more and more wild in appearance. Soon enough, he passed through what seemed like his last village before entering the wilderness. As he refilled his water at village well, he was approached by some of the locals, who asked if he was heading into the wild or back to San Ilia.

"I go to where the green things grow," Maxwell responded, bringing up the bucket from the bottom of the well. Gathering confused looks from the questioners, he rephrased his answer. "Out into the wild. Sheesh, can't you guys understand a parable or two? Then again, it's more like a faulty joke..."

This response garnered looks of concern from the group, who turned and spoke to each other for a few moments before one of them took a step forward. He laid a hand on the outsider's shoulder. "You better be careful out when you travel. There have been sightings of a haunted manor off to the North East. Rumors say that there are all sorts of horrible monsters there such as, ghosts, monsters and a necromancer leading the whole thing. Now, they are just rumors, but everyone who's gone in that direction hasn't been heard of again."

Maxwell slightly grinned as he processed the information. This was the classic 'Haunted Mansion' scenario, and it had just arrived on his metaphorical doorstep. A problem had came out of the blue, and with that came a side quest for him to complete. He decided that with the great pacing he had over the past few days, taking a little side quest wouldn't hurt his timing too badly.

With a small smile on his face, he asked, "How about if I were to deal with this Necromancer problem for you guys? You'd just pay me for the doing the dead afterward."

One of the others in the group shook his head. "No, we couldn't send a stranger to their death on our behalf," he responded with a frown.

"No, I insist." Maxwell could see that despite their word of refusal, he was slowly but surely winning them over. It was a given that people would rather have someone they didn't have relations with to solve their problems for them as there would be very little consequences other than slight guilt. If they even felt guilty at all. "You will pay me in both gold and meat when I solve the problem."

"But, we just can-"

"Can't send someone else to die?" The outsider finished. He then planted a somber look on his face. "So you'd rather have all your fellow villagers die when the mansion becomes filled to the brim with monster girls? I'd guess that this necromancer would not pass up the chance or such easy bodies to experiment with. If I go.. it's all or nothing. No gain, no loss."

"...Fine," the group conceded after a few moments taken to talk among themselves. One of the group members spoke up. "We'll let you deal with the haunted mansion and the necromancer, though if you don't show up by at least three days, we'll mark you off as dead."

The smallest in the group, a young teenager gazed over Maxwell with a skeptical eye. "But how are you going to fight? You don't have a weapon with you, not even a dagger. You know magic or some kind of witchcraft?"

The outsider grinned, shaking the teenager's long hair, who swatted him away. "No, unfortunately I do not have the slightest bit of magical knowledge or talent. I do have weapons, although they may not seem like weapons to you. Now I must set off, as I have only three days until I'll be singing a dead man's tune." He let out a chuckle at some of the gasps he got back in response, then set off towards the haunted mansion.

The teen huffed behind him.

* * *

After a few hours of traveling, Maxwell reached his destination. The first thing that told him that he had reached the mansion, were the abundance in circling crows, indicating the death of many recent animals or people in the area. The second was the stench of death so heavy, his non-existent sixth scent could feel it, the a voice in the back of his mind telling him to turn away and never look back, the primal swirling of darkness outstretching from the building in front of him.

Shaking his head, Maxwell pushed aside his internal turmoil and moved forward, walking around the mansion to the front.

It was a respectable three stories tall, with the top one being an attic, a fact only made discernible thanks to the wooden opening on the top window. It had a porch on both sides of the house along with a chimney on the side. The porch has its share of wear and tear as it had collapsed inward while the railings looked as if the slightest wind would not them over.

Windows had been broken in, glass smashed and haphazardly laid across the lawn. The shutters laid on the grass also, fallen of their hinges sometime ago. This allowed for the wind to easily make its way into the house, and as it did it sounded as if something was both howling and growling simultaneously. Maxwell wondered if the necromancer was either clumsy or had been trying for this effect to deter visitors.

Out in the front was what used to be a massive courtyard. Now it was filled with rows upon rows of gravestones, surrounded by a worn out wooden fence. "Clearly not the best at yard maintenance," Maxwell commented as he walked towards the porch. He noted that the vegetation grew less and less the closer he got to the mansion, as if they were afraid to grow close to it. The trees nearby were either withered up or dried out.

"Well," Maxwell started, tentatively placing a foot on the porch. It creaked and groaned as he shifted his weight unto it. He dropped his sack on the ground, as it would only prove to hinder his movement. "...if it weren't for my tip to record, I'd assume this would be the end of my tale."

Stepping into the mansion, the outsider took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the sudden dim light. After said moment had past, he crept forward, moving for the stairs. The windows on the first floor seemed to glow ominously as the sunset's light shined through them. It was when he was passing a column when a large shadow leaped out of from the darkness and towards him.

Maxwell sidestepped, causing the shadow to miss him and... phase through the wall beside him...!

"What the-?!" The outsider quickly pivoted on his left foot, whipping out a stylus from his back pocket. He twirled it between two fingers. When the shadow came out from the wall it had just flew into, Maxwell threw his stylus at her head... only for the shadow to phase through his attack, leaving the stylus to fly uselessly through the air.

"He he he, human energy... I need it," his attacker moaned hungrily. It looked like a girl with long black hair that seemed to cover her entire body except for her face and chest, her legs non-existent. Around her transparent, there floated multiple disembodied hands, each one grasping at the air at different intervals.

Despite the eye candy, Maxwell wasn't the slightest bit aroused. He was rather annoyed by the turn of events. _A ghost girl. Great, just the thing I'm not equipped to deal with..._ Out of the corner of his eye he spotted hands moving towards him. The outsider attempted to swat them aside, but they phased through all his attacks, circling around him and grabbing hold of his clothes.

With his movements now restrained, the ghost girl move up to him. "Ahh, looks like I'll be sucking up all your human energy," she said seductively, bringing her breasts up to his crotch.

"Bullshit! Your dreams ain't never coming true, toasty ghost!" Maxwell spit in the ghost girl direction, causing her to flinch. At that moment, the disembodied hands flickered in existence, allowing him to escape her grip. _Looks like the dead still retain their human instincts... somewhat_. The outsider ducked under the ghost girl and ran through the foyer, entering another room. He hated the fact that _he_ out of all people was retreating, but this was not a monster he could hope to harm with his current weapons.

This one had various artworks all around the room. There were paintings, sculptures, and other countless artworks laying both on the wall and various tables in the room. They had all been subject to the passage of time, with each of them holding heavy damage to its product.

But Maxwell didn't come to enjoy the artwork. He had a job to do, one that would be solving quite a few of his problems. Moving through the room, he saw a Japanese looking doll laid across the ground. As he stepped over it, his senses suddenly spiked and they told him to just _move!_ The outsider immediately acted on them but he found his legs entrapped by hair.

A sharp spike ran throughout his body nearly causing him to collapse unto the ground at that very moment. Pushing aside the pain, he yelled out in a rasped voice, "Ruler of All Angular Rotation 'The Top'!" He managed to get himself free from the hair's deadly grip, stumbling across the foyer as he did so. Looking up, he found the source of the attack: the floating doll he had just tried to step over.

"Big bro... are you... having fun, playing... with me?" The doll seemed to boast playfully, bringing back her hair to her head.

Maxwell gritted his teeth as he looked up at the doll. _What the hell was that?! Felt like the damn hair was trying to suck the life out me, nearly blacked out back there._ It was at this moment that the ghost girl decided to make an appearance, phasing through the fall on the left. Now, he was in a pickle, surround on both fronts. First by the ghost that wanted his 'human energy' and by the ghost girl that seemed to suck it out of him.

 _Wait..._ A plan hatched in Maxwell's mind and he turned to the doll, sneering at her. His thoughts turned to what he was going to do after such plan had been enacted. Warmly smiling, he turned towards the doll floating in the air. "Well, this big bro says you can't catch him!"

"Nonsense... big bro... I am a master... at.. tag. You're it!" The doll playfully said as her hair flew forward.

The hair was fast, but the outsider was faster. Just before the doll's hair touched him, he suddenly turned towards the ghost girl. Shifting his weight to one foot, he pushed himself forward, flying though the ghost and leaving the hair behind. Sure enough, it met and connected with the ghost girl, who moaned in disapproval.

"My power..." She lamented as her form began to dissolve into nothingness. A small ball of white was all that remained before it too, was absorbed by the doll.

One down.

One to go.

"Eh..? She... was not part... of this... gam-!"

Maxwell silenced the doll with a stylus to the head. It jammed itself stuck in her forehead, the cracks spreading in a spiderweb pattern. _I may not know how to take down a ghost, but a little doll is something I can really play with._ As the ghost girl began to fall down to Earth, the outsider wall-ran and used gravity to amplify his force, landing on the doll with a sickening crunch.

"Really, I must thank you, lil' sis," he said in a mocking tone, lifting up his foot. A pained expression looked back at him through the few intact parts of the face. "I don't know what I'd do without your assistance... but now that it's no longer needed, I no longer need _you_." Maxwell lifted his foot once again, before slamming it into the doll's face with the edge of his shoe. This time he felt no resistance, as he broke apart the remains of the doll beneath him.

"Big... bro... I just wanted to play..." The doll sorrowfully uttered out its last words, before finally shutting down, only a husk of its former body.

"I'm sure you did, you freakish little toy." Maxwell picked his stylus of from the ground, and checked the point.

 _Still sharp as a knife. Better than one in some cases_.

He twirled it skillfully around two of his fingers before holding it still in his hand. Giving the room one last look over, he turned away and walked towards the stairs he had passed earlier. He took two stairs at a time, leaving a creaking sound after each step he took. After each step, the staircase groaned, as if it were about to collapse on itself.

Right as he passed by the final step, Maxwell froze. A faint feminine moan laid still in the house, ringing through his ears. The outsider shifted the stylus further up in his hand. "So here comes the next monster..."

At that moment, the door on the left swung open, revealing the intruder in front of him. It was a woman dressed in rags, with filthy hair and barefoot. She had unhealthy pale skin- to the point that it was near purple- and in the dim light, Maxwell could see stitched up wounds all over her body. He watched as the woman stopped and gazed at him with dull red eyes. She raised one disfigured arm, with its joints broken beyond repair and a hand that swiveled like a rotating chair.

"Semen... need..." She moaned out aimlessly.

 _A zombie!_ Maxwell thought as he reached behind his back. He knew the weaknesses zombie possessed, and with that, where exactly to strike. The outsider brought his stylus into a forward grip and charged towards the Zombie. He thrust the stylus into her head, using his other hand to hammer it into her forehead.

The zombie staggered for a moment, disorientated. "Uoohh~!"

Maxwell used this moment to grab her fleshy neck, calling upon his power. He felt the skin beneath his fingertips begin to coil up like a cobra, the blood in her neck welling up between the tiny open spaces. Before she could burst like a figurative balloon, and send blood flying everywhere, the outsider let go of his hold on her and kicked her in the stomach.

The zombie woman went along with the force of his blow, and she fell backwards down the stairs, coating the wood in red as he neck wounds gave way to the influx of blood.

The outsider stared down at the now inactive zombie that was laying spread eagle at the foot of the staircase. His stylus was still lodged in her forehead- only the handle was visible. He hated leaving behind such a useful item, but the tip was sure to have either broken or gone dull from him jamming the stylus into the zombie's skull. He moved further through the house, looking for the master bedroom. He made it halfway through the hall before it was heard.

Rat-a-tat-a-tat.

Something was approaching him from the room beside hi- _No_.

He was being surrounded.

On all sides.

Maxwell whipped out a stylus from his pocket, steeling his fists. "What am in? Some kind of Zombie spawn?" He joked, despite his situation. Zombies suddenly busted out from the rooms all around him, flooding the hall. The outsider could count four of them. Despite their physique being of the Zombie type, they didn't appear to be that resilient, with them gaining wounds where their bodies hit the doors, moving at a snail's pace.

 _These ones must've been made with lesser made skin,_ Maxwell reasoned. The stitches holding their skin together were loose, causing the skin to sag downward. They were wearing rags just as the zombie before had, rags that contained quite a generous bust. _One thing I don't get is how all these zombies, or monsters in general... are all fucking female! One would think there'd at least be a male zombie, right?_

Using his speed advantage, Maxwell maneuvered his way around one of the zombies and slashed at her back, leaving behind a wide gaping wound. He twisted his body around, avoiding another zombie lunging at him and then he backflipped off the wall, landing on the heads of both Zombies smashing their skulls with his weight.

 _Ick! Gonna have to wash these babies sometime! Goddamn brain mush sure as hell gonna ruin my shoes!_ His nose recoiled as he caught the scent of the zombie's inwards. _Holy hell! No wonder them body pick-up crews always be wearing masks and shit!_

Another zombie came for him from the side. The outsider effortlessly sidestepped the charge and grabbed her neck, calling upon his ability once more. He twisted it to the point that the stitched along her neck ripped open, allowing for the muscle in her neck to spill out. A normal human would've already been incapacitated by the sheer blood loss and damage, but all it did to the zombie was leave her head hanging by a few strands of muscle on her neck to Maxwell's discomfort.

Spotting another Zombie charge at him, Maxwell aimed a kick at her head, but she only shot her hands forwards and grabbed his legs. The outsider allowed the zombie girl the drag him closer to her bosom, grabbing her head when he was at range. Using his power, he twisted her head several times forward until the neck below was twisted like a pretzel.

Tearing off her arm, he swung it like a bat, dislodging the head of the last and final zombie.

"Now, that was an experience," Maxwell said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. Luckily he, unlike his surroundings, was not covered in blood and gore. He bent down, taking back his stylus from the ground. He didn't feel too tired, though that might've just been the rush he gained from the fight. "A zombie Apocalypse would be easy to survive if I had to be running from these living slabs of meat."

He took a step forward. Blood caked his shoes, leaving behind red footprints in his wake. The smell seemed to have stuck to him, as he couldn't stop his nose from wrinkling at every step. _Checking the master bedroom is next on the list, sure to find someon-_

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"


	16. Smitchy Sciency

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Maxwell pivoted on his foot, facing his soon-to-be adversity. It was a young girl, fourteen to fifteen in appearance. She was less provocative in clothing than the zombie's were, black and purple leggings, a suspender-skirt combination, with the skirt and her shirt being connected by a belt. This however, left her tummy exposed to the air.

But what put the outsider on edge, were the inhuman parts of her body.

Her skin was purple in color, a fact that immediately set her aside from being human. Two purple horns glowed on her head, a nurse's cap nestled between them. She held a hacksaw in one hand, but Maxwell was suspecting that it was being sued for less than medical purposes.

She bent down, nudging the lifeless zombies with the butt of her hacksaw. "M-My creations! My experiments!" She wailed, turning around and running down the stairs.

The outsider followed after her, the stairs creaking and groaning under his increased weight and speed. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The little monster girl was now standing next to an even bigger zombie, one with dark purple colored skin, bandages covering her entire body, standing on all fours bowlegged and at an awkward angle.

"Well..." The outsider started to speak, then trailed off. The nurse cap girl spoke up.

"What is with you?! Why are you going crazy in my laboratory?!" She asked, a furious expression upon her face.

"What's with _you_!? Creating all these troublesome zombie abominations that just seem to keep getting in my way." Maxwell paused to brush off a bit of dirt from his hair. He needed to clean that mess up later. "Really, individuals like you ought to be kept in check. In a place where they don't interfere with my life."

Her face swelled up in anger. "Oh, I'm _sorry,_ that I happen to be the Necromancer, Chrome. This place just so happened to be an execution ground, that later formed into a graveyard. Great for finding corpses for running my experiments and sometimes, you get to find rare specimens, such as Frederika over here." The zombie called Frederika shifted in response to hearing her name said.

"Experiments... such as creating ghost girls?" The outsider responded. He wasn't even sure how one would go about creating ghosts, with their soul-like form. _Probably through one of the 'arcane' arts, whatever they are anyway._

"No." Chrome shook her head. "That ghost girl came in on her own, probably attracted by you. But all the zombies here are of my creation. Creations that you destroyed, for no good reason!"

"No good reason?" Maxwell echoed lazily. He rubbed a hand lazily against his chin. He definitely needed to get a shave later. "I was asked to take _care_ the zombies overtaking this place and along with that the necromancer. It seems that I got myself a two-for-one special here... if you catch my drift." The outsider withdrew a stylus from his pocket, spinning it around one finger.

"Well then. I have other things to be testing in the future, and you are just going to be a hindrance to my research. Actually, I think I'll turn you into one of my experiments. Yes, that'll do. It'd do well for me to have a source of male semen." She snapped her fingers. The perfect zombie behind her Frederika, rose up, standing hunched over on two legs. Chrome stepped aside, letting her creation take the lead. "Frederika... get him!"

"Understood... Master..." The giant shambled after Maxwell.

"Well, then. It appears I have a dilemma on my hands, oh what so ever should I do?" He asked, mocking the zombie. The stylus on his finger ceased its rotation, resting in his palm. He closed it, ready to use the utensil as he desired. "I'll just do this."

The oversized zombie girl fell forward, lowering herself onto the ground. Clearly she intended to crush and suffocate him to exhaustion.

Maxwell was already moving, swiftly backing out of Frederika's attack range. He swung his arm. The stylus flew forward, far faster than any of his previous swings had done before. It sailed past the perfect zombie's head. _Good._ She wasn't his original target in the first place. To take out the zombie, by aiming for the summoner... or necromancer in this case.

The attempt backfired, if anything.

"Frederika."

The zombie's hand jerked back at lightning speeds, stopping the utensil in its tracks. Blood fell from the puncture wound, coating the floor in blood red. Despite its speed, the stylus had barely broke the skin. Frederika plucked out the stylus, crushing it in her grip.

Chrome regarded Maxwell with a cold stare. "What did you think you would be accomplishing by that? Disrespecting someone such as I, you will be left moaning in agony by the time I'm done with you! Show him the power of your legs, Frederika!" She pointed her finger at Maxwell, the perfect zombie slowly turning her head to meet its point.

"Understood... master..." the zombie groaned. She kicked forward, moving with a speed beyond that of any normal human.

 _This zombie is clearly superior to her peers. Almost caught me with a single stride._ The outsider sidestepped the charge, drew his arm back. His hand, flattened, hit against Fredrerika's neck. Maxwell winced. Her skin was much tougher than he expected.

The perfect zombie didn't acknowledge his attack, moved her leg in a sweeping motion.

Maxwell bent down, put up a guarding arm. The kick sent him sliding across the floor, the wooden frame beneath him, creaking as he did so. Swallow gouges beneath his feet, the outsider stood back up, slightly shaking his guard arm. "Man, you really are a toughie, huh?" He grinned, straightened himself, walked forward at an unhurried pace. The zombie was still in the same kicking pose as before.

Frederika placed her foot down, seemingly sensing his approach. She visibly tensed, not retaliating, in a position to strike at a moment's notice.

"What are you doing?" Chrome hissed, clearly agitated. "Go and strike him!"

Maxwell reached into his pocket, pulled out empty air. Wasting his weapons on an opponent unaffected by them wasn't a viable strategy for winning. The outsider lunged forward, moving to close the distance.

The zombie swing her arm in a horizontal fashion, claw-like nails outstretched.

He ducked under the strike, reemerging on the other side of her arm. Maxwell grabbed her left shoulder, planted his foot on Frederika's back, forced her face against the floor. "Well, well. It's time we had a bit of an re-arrangement policy put into place," he said. The perfect zombie struggled under his grip. Latching on to her arm, he exercised his power.

He could feel the cold, lifeless flesh tearing beneath him as he pulled upward. Purple, malicious colored blood poured outward from the open wound. It trickled down into a growing puddle at the zombie's feet. The act was nauseating, even as he tossed aside the useless limb. _Just like an executioner... at the morgue._ He chanced a glance to his side. Chrome was still standing where she had started, an annoyed expression on her face, arms folded across her body.

"Tch, annoying human. It'll take more than a fallen arm to defeat my creation!" Chrome outstreched her arm. Frederika straightened up, shook violently as she moved her remaining good arm between her front and her back.

"Please... kill... me..." the zombie said in a hushed whisper. "I... do... no wish... for... this..."

"Hmm? You wish for death?" Maxwell asked. He didn't expect for a zombie to be asking for death, seeing as they had already transcended the force. It reminded him of scenes in books when one asks for death when they are unable handle the pain. Maybe it had something to do with laying the soul to rest.

Clearly, the necromancer had not been expecting this defiance. She shook her fist wildly in the air. "What are you blabbering about you dumb zombie?! Now I want you to us-"

Maxwell step into the zombie's range, almost casually, and drove a stylus through one of her eyes sockets. His power blossomed around the stylus, violently shredding away any flesh that came into contact with it. Like a carving knife, the writing utensil drilled out a sizable hole in Frederika's forehead. The stylus stuck out harmlessly on the other side of her head. "Ah, you shouldn't turn your attention away from the adults, little one."

The zombie collapsed unto the floor, lifeless, unmoving. A bright light escaped her body, flew up to the sky above.

Now she was truly 'dead'... whatever that meant for the unusual world.

And that all the flooring below could handle.

The whole thing shattered before his feet. Maxwell, along with Chrome descended in a shower of wood and rubble.

He could hear the groan as the wood gave way. The outsider broke his fall with the use of his power. Causing the air below him to spin, slowing his descent to the basement below. Maxwell stood, dusted his clothes off. In the midst of the thin dust and chunks of debris, Chrome hovered in the air, showing no signs of injury nor discomfort. _Would it kill you guys to not have magi... oh, it probably would._

"Arugh! My laboratory, you fucking human!" Chrome screamed in anger, shouting the outsider a furious glare, burning with hatred. "Why in the **_fucking_** hell would you do something like this?! _WHO ARE YOU?!_ "

Maxwell smiled, unnerved by her hate-filled screaming. "Oh no, I'm no 'hero'. Such a job would be too grand for a man such as I. I'd call myself a self-hired lackey, but I guess that wouldn't suit me either. In reality, I guess I'd call myself a 'guy who is searching for the correct answers'. An unmotivated wanderer." He reached into his pocket, drew a stylus. He danced it around his fingers, letting it slow each time the tip turned to point towards Chrome.

"Searching for answers, you say? With my zombies and my masterpiece, Frederika... I was going to find the secrets behind death and the unknown, with the power of science behind me, I'll be sure to do just that!" She lowered herself to the ground, unfolded her arms from one another. The Necromancer dropped her hacksaw, outspread her fingers. "But _you_ science hater, you assassin! Sent here to stop the progress of knowledge and destroy _my_ work as well?! I can create other zombies, but letting you go will just not do!"

"So you hold these convictions to your scientific progress rather highly, yes? Never mind that necromancy it isn't really science..." The outsider's grin dropped from his face. He put up his hood, eyes covered by shadow. He held a finger before his face, let the stylus spin. Slowly, in an uneven pattern. Maxwell let the writing utensil spin silently, speaking on the third rotation. "I call _bullshit_. Your sciencey feelings aren't going to help you here." _Such a mundane ambition, too..._

In the next moment, Chrome's eyes and hands were glowing with purple light. "Do not think you'll get away with insulting me you science hater! I'll show you the power of a necromancer and make you into one of my creations!" She yelled, rising up into the air. She stared down at Maxwell, wordlessly.

The outsider stopped the spinning of his stylus, clenched it in his palm. "Then you better show me the power of your science. Because if you don't... well, things will start becoming a bit more _messy_ down here." He still didn't understand how magic was being considered science despite breaking all its rules, but that was something he's have to check on later. _Preferably when I'm not on a job and a deadline._

Maxwell moved before he could be attacked, darting to the left.

Dirt and stone were disintegrated, orbs of dark purple light carving divots into the ground behind him. Smoke rose up from the points of impact, sizzling sounds could be heard where the light had touched the ground.

 _Acid attacks? Strange color for one of_ _those._ The outsider was airborne. He'd leaped off one of the many coffins lying in the basement. Flipped himself upside down, threw his stylus. Rolled until his feet were under him, then sprung forward.

Chrome twisted her body out of the stylus's path. It stuck out uselessly in a part of the collapsed floorboard. "It'll take more than that to take out a skilled necromancer such as I," she said, boasting her strength. She floated backwards, increasing the distance between the two. Muttering a short incantation, her hands grew brighter than before. "Now I'll summon the dead to deal with you!"

"Nice wor-"

A multitude of arms burst out of the ground, reaching out for Maxwell's foot.

The outsider pulled his leg up out of the air, virtually spinning as he stepped to the side. He bent down, placed a hand against the basement floor, cocked his other arm back. He called upon his power, feeling the recognizable swirling sensation against his person. _Rotational Withdraw._ He struck his other hand against the ground, sent vibrations throughout it.

The ground broke apart, shattered. The dismantlement of rubble bludged the hands climbing from below, broke them beyond repair, burrowed them in the dirt of the Earth. Others fell into the massive divot created by the blow.

"Annoying human! You will be severally punished for all this damage you're doing today!" Chrome snapped her fingers. Another zombified arm appeared from the ground.

It caught the underside of Maxwell's foot. He stumbled as he pulled himself free of its grip. "So you have like an unlimited supply of these things or what?" He swung his arm downward, three styluses flew forward.

The necromancer dodged two of them, the third catching her nurse cap. "Wait, I need tha-!" She started.

It provided the outsider the opportunity he needed. He leaped into the air, grabbed at the necromancer's legs, pulled her back to Earth. With the lost of her flight, he slammed her against the ground, knocked the wind out of her lungs. Maxwell didn't allow her anytime to recover, held her up by the neck, threw her off to the side, just like dead meat.

"Wha- hic... kind of... hic, person hits a little girl?" She looked up to Maxwell, tears in the corner of her eyes. The necromancer had her clothes torn in several places, dust all over her person. The previous bravado from before seemed to evaporate, replaced with both rage and fear. "You bastard!"

Maxwell smiled warmly, as if he were having a conversation with a best friend and was not just fighting zombies. He then threw his foot forward, sent Chrome a few feet across the basement. Her body laid still. "Don't you see what situation you're in? I recommend that you shut your mouth, before I break it for you little lady." He still maintained his smile, showing off a few of his teeth.

"I'm not a 'little lady'," Chrome retorted, slowly turning her head to meet his eyes. She narrowed them. "I'm far older than _you_. So you'd best respect your elders."

Though he was surprised, the outsider didn't let it show on his face. _Monster genes truly are something_. "Ah, yes. My elder... the elder who still holds grand delusions of emotional bullshit. Didn't I tell you that your smitchty scienecy crap wasn't going to help you win? Look what happened, putting all your faith into your beliefs. Would you say you lost thanks to them or not, now that they're inconvenient?" He laughed, smile morphing into an ugly sneer.

"Yo- yo- yo- you know nothing!" The necromancer yelled, tone growing more angry. "All you idiot humans are the same! Someone like you would never understand all the time I put into my research! All the sleepless nights spent on my necromatic endeavors! All the hope a placed into my theories, my hypothesises! Then to see it all crumbling down..."

The outsider chuckled, his thoughts going back to a time when he was also, yet another naive human. One out of countless pawns, _toys_ for the single thread of red. But that was a thought for another time. He drew a stylus, studied the look of barely-concealed terror. "Ah well, that sucks, Chrome is it? Having the subject of your faith taken way lik- Oh what's this?" He was about to stop Chrome in her tracks, but thought against it. _I'm not a cruel human, after all. Gotta give the people some hope._

The necromancer snatched her nurse cap from the ground, gave Maxwell a stare that threatened to burn off his face. " _Bitch... you fucking human_ ," she said venomously, drawled out each and every word. _Defiance_.

"How rude!" Maxwell grasped his heart, as if he'd been shot. He grabbed Chrome by the scruff of her shirt, grinned down at her face. "I reckon it's time we lighten the mood with a few games!"

"Games?"

"Of course. I'm going to crucify you on the graveyard of the mansion you love so much. Pin you with a couple of these, sure to keep you from using that pesky magic and escaping." The stylus glinted maliciously. He would be seen as a 'Hero' in the eyes of the delusional people of the village and possibly most of the world. That was the sad truth. "I'll spill some of these zombie guts on you, that'll attract all the bugs and the critter folk! Such a demise will fit a monster such as you!"

Maxwell let the grin fall from his face. "Which is what I would say if I was some horrible abomination of a character. You'll die here and now, I'll make it quick, even. Just thrust this thing through the center of your head. You just stop, shut down. No pain. You'll even be able to keep whatever dignity you had left: A scientist dying for their craft. Such a cliche yet, ever popular death." He let the words dance along the tip of his tongue, words flowed out like honey.

He could see tears appearing in the corner of the necromancer's eyes. "You won't be able to get away with this..." Her voice held determination. Grim determination, but it was still there nonetheless.

"And who says that?"

Every fiber of his being told him, screamed at him. _Get the fuck out of the way. **Get out of the area, now!**_ Maxwell obeyed, kicked himself back as his foot found proper footing from the ground. Even though he had powers, he was still only human, so it was in his best interests to follow his best chances for survival. Preservation instincts told him, to back up further, death laid in front of him.

A column of sparkling light came flying from the sky, annihilated anything it touched. Wood, stone, dirt, air. It all was nothing before this shining column. The outsider laid only a mere meter away, squinted his eyes. Then it stopped.

It left as quickly as it came, the only remembrance of its appearance being the scorched wood, the particular column outline reaching far into the Earth below.

That, and the fact that the necromancer seemed to have disappeared.

"Wait, what?!" Maxwell rose up back to his knees, looked to where he last saw Chrome. She had vanished, not a trace of her left behind. He gritted his teeth, about to internally scream out multiple obscurities before a thought came into his mind. "Well, all things considered, I guess I found myself in a bit of a Cat and Mouse game. Only the mouse ain't getting clawed, it's getting skewered."

* * *

Getting out of the shipwreck that used to be the mansion, would've posed a proper obstacle for most people. Luckily, Maxwell wasn't most people, as he climbed his way over the piece of rubble and fallen wood. He leaped off a loose piece of wood, landed in front of the front door. It was the only part of the house that had remained standing after the initial blast. The outsider tentatively tapped the door with a finger.

It fell outward, laying out a path in front of him.

"Now that is some shot engineering." Maxwell gingerly stepped unto the wooden platform, its structure threatening to collapse in on itself under his weight. As he passed the porch, he picked a knapsack. The same one he had set up against the wall earlier. "Seems to be in one piece. Doubt anyone or anything would've touched it after hearing the battle from earlier. Now that would be a death wish."

The outsider made sure to secure the sack to his person before turning back to the mansion, giving it one last look over. "I ought to ransack this place for gold and whatnot, but I doubt I'd be able to find anything in all the destruction here. Then again, that big laser from earlier didn't help either." Though, I find it strange that the attack bears a resemblance to Luka's own attack. He thought back to the cave where Luka had taken down an eight tailed kitsune with overwhelming power… while remaining asleep.

"Amusing that you would be focusing your thoughts on how to ransack this mansion, rather than focusing on survival or fighting off shock. Such is of a human's base instincts, is not? Or is it that you do not retain thousands of years of primal desires," a feminine-sounding voice suddenly said out of the blue.

Maxwell froze, wheeled around towards the source of the voice. Casually striding towards him was a woman with dark red hair in a shimmering white lab coat and underneath that was a gray sweater that contained a rather generous bust. On her lower body she wore a knee-length black skirt with nylon stockings covering her legs.

She looked like she had just came out of a lab, a classroom or maybe a medical clinic. The lab coat swung freely in the breeze, the rest of her wear remaining stationary.

The woman regarded the outsider with an amused smile, a hint of curiosity shown through her eyes. "Though I suspect that is a trait inherent to your world, that is in the end, only a theory." She stopped a few meters away from Maxwell, hands lazily resting in her pockets.

Maxwell bristled, narrowed his eyes. His ability twinged at the tips of his fingers, he let his hands drop lazily by his sides. "Do you mind telling me exactly how you know of that?" The fact that someone knew that he had not originated from this world was… unsettling. He'd made sure to keep that information under metaphorical lock and key, but he knew that there beings capable and sure to have sensed his arrival.

Namely, Ilias. With the fact that he had chased off an angel upon his arrival, that was a given truth. Although he had a suspicion that the annoying lamia trailing behind Luka was getting a bit _too_ close to his personal business.

"Ilias had brought you to my attention, though it was mostly thanks to your own contributions to my efforts that had caused me to look into you." Her eyes lazily gazed over the courtyard before they settled on the collapsed mansion.

The outsider found himself frowning. "What do you mean by contributions? Me and you, we have no connection with each other beyond the fact that we both are living. And I hope our relations remain this far apart."

The red haired woman turned Maxwell's way, smirked at him. "Our relations could at the very least be regarded as an apprenticeship, not the best way to name it, but not the worst either. Allow me to stir up your memory. You must've remembered the cupid you had first encountered upon your arrival to this plane. While I am uncertain how you managed to alter a cupid into such a state, I am thankful to have a competent assistant around the lab. It is bothersome when your peers are unable to comprehend simple concepts, yes?"

Maxwell nodded in agreement.

"Once again, I must extend my thanks to you. My new assistant has sped up my current projects by at least 32%." She turned her gaze back to the mansion, focusing her eyes on the crater. "Despite my gratification, I couldn't allow you to kill that stupid necroman-"

"Just wait a few microseconds." With that the outsider looked up, met the scientist's eyes. He steeled his own eyes, brought them into a downward cast. "So you mean to tell me that, _you're_ the reason why my target has escaped my grasp and the one who almost turned me into a pile of ashes?"

"Not me, exactly." The woman waved her hand, Maxwell following her gaze. An image of an angel holding an oversized arrow flickered in the sky momentarily before going out of sight once more. "But yes, I did give that order. Erasing her would not have gone well for my future plans."

"Being _dead_ isn't exactly what I'd call a life goal either," the outsider countered. He was sure that he'd find himself with anger, but all he could feel was annoyance. Much like dealing with an annoying fly. "You might want to get back to those plans of yours, though, Science lady. Wasting your time out here may bring some _unwanted_ factors into your dealings."

"I am not 'Science lady'. I'd prefer you call me by my actual name, Promestein." Her voice tingled with amusement. "I do find it amusing that you think you -a mere human- could mess with my plans, on the other hand."

Maxwell grinned, not quite meeting her eyes. "You are just setting yourself up for failure in the future. Whether it be by my hands or the blade of another. Remember the saying: "Good will always triumph Evil. Remember that the next time we meet."

While he knew good and evil were such abstract concepts, one couldn't ignore the inherent usefulness they held. The masses ability to self-delude themselves into taking one side or another on the moral spectrum. Despite the silliness of it all, the side with a greater number always seemed to prevail, in both fiction and in a few select cases in reality.

Promestein laughed with the slightest touch of derision. "Right, the next time we meet. Until then." She turned to walk away, disappearing into thin air seconds later.

 _I ought to start making my way out here as well_ , Maxwell thought. He hefted his knapsack over his shoulders, twirled a stylus along his fingers and began retracing the path back to the village.

He whistled a merry tune, the sound echoing through the forest, as he made his way downhill.


	17. Backtrack to the Future

The trek back to the miniature village from before was left unbothered by monster interfirence and interruption. Maxwell assumed that this was either thanks to some long overdue luck that should've came into play in the past, or the smell of rotten flesh and guts made him ' _unappitizing_ ' to any monster girls in his immediate area.

"Hello world! What a fine... uh, cloud day we have today, yes!" The Outsider vocalized his entrance, drew attention from the people milling around. He took a brief moment to gauge the looks of surprise of their faces, noted that they seemed to have already presumed that he died. A fact that could not be anymore farther than the truth.

"You're still alive?"

"Does this mean that you dealt with the mansion? What of the necromancer?"

"I'll get your payment."

Maxwell let the people speak without interruption, took in the sounds of their voices. He rose a hand, silencing the group. "First of all, I'm fine, as you can see this body still moving alongside you. Second, mansion gone, necromancer escaped, but them zombies will no longer be a problem here." The Outsider paused, snapped his fingers then, pointed at the one who had last spoken. "And my payment, get it quickly and make it snappy."

The one who had spoken ran off, presumably to get the reward Maxwell had asked for.

"Are you a chosen hero of Ilias? Or do you hold angelic blood?" One of the group members asked.

"Me, a ch-" Maxwell broke into a spell of hysterical laughter, wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye. "A chosen her-" He had to pause to let another small laugh pass. "A chosen hero? Can't say I could imagine that ever happeining to me, the whole concept is pretty unappitizing. And 'of Ilias'? Wew lad, that be a match made in a nuclear reactor. Sodium and oxygen! Students and math teachers! So, not a very good one."

"Well, that's... surprising. I find it hard to beleive that an _unblessed_ her- human, would be able to do such things in a short amount of time. It'd probably take a couple of us _months_ if not _years_ to deal with the necromancer and her creations," he responded.

Maxwell chuckled lighly. "Good thing I'm not one of _you_ guys then."

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement. It was the villager he had set off earlier to get his well deserved reward. He carried a bundle of meat in one hand, the other one holding a sack, one presumbly filled with gold coins.

The Outsider took both packages from the villager's hands and placed them into his knapsack. He gave him a pat on the back. "You did well, young one. But now it is time for me to continue my travels." He had no need for a fancy party fit for a king, it was complete job, then exit the premisis. As per his own policies.

"Excuse me, but we didn't quite catch your name," someone said. It was the villager with the long hair he chatted with before heading for the mansion.

"My name? What would you need that for? I'll just be here and gone, you'd probably forget in about... two-three days? A week at the most."

"Shouldn't we be able to at least gain the name of the one who saved us? Sort of," she countered.

"Well, that is a good argument, but..." Maxwell pivoted on his right foot, his back turned to face the villagers. He smiled, despite knowing that no one could see it. "...I think I'll remain a widely known but unnamed figure for the time being. Now, I got muscle to tussel and who better else than The Russel?"

* * *

A week passed. In that time Maxwell came across a site that he had to admit twinged the detective within him.

The site in question was a stone statue of a human. Located on the side of the dirt trail he was following. The sculture was eerily similar to a human, to the point that even individual strands of hair could be picked out among each other. Maxwell suspected that this was _both_ much more than an artist with high skill and not the work of a human. The whole thing had reminded him of the myth of Medusa: the gorgon monster capable of turning humans to stone.

In retrospect, the idea wasn't far off. If there were monsters from Japanese myths in the world, then the same could probably be said for the Greeks.

The Outsider surveyed a tall tree. it had a thick trunk and rough bark accompanied with multiple brnaches that would offer plenty of handholds. He began to scale the tree, stopping about three-fourths of the way to the top. From his vantage point, he could clearly see the rolling hills that seemed to go on forever. Looking to his right, he could see a large lush forest that appeared out of place against the grassy hills around it and the mountain to its back.

Looking to his left, he could spot a silver of water flowing in the distance. There was, yet another mountain pass to its own left.

Maxwell took out his map and compared its features with the landscape before him. Ten minutes passed before folded up the map. He leaped off his branch, fell at an average speed, used his ability to spin the air below his feet, slowing his descent, albiet not by much.

He decided to head towards the river, despite knowing that it would take more time than it would to just cut through the plains diagonaly. At the river, he could probably fill up his dwindling water supply. Presuming that the water happened to be _fresh_ water.

After deciding where to go, Maxwell set off for the southeast.

[00-00-02]

It was at sometime during the sun's rise when The Outsider stopped to have breakfast. About a week or two had passed since he had decided to go for the river. During that time, he had unfortunately been interrupted by a storm in the area, one that caused him to hide out in a cave as he waited for it to pass. After that, he fell victim to a surprise landslide, only managing to escape by the skin of his teeth. He had to carefully manuever himself over the loosened soil and make sure to watch for hidden pitfalls.

Truly, luck was not on his side.

Maxwell felt the need to spice up his routinely meals of meat and bread and so he combed nearby trees in search for fruit. He managed to come up with a few cherries in one hand and an apple that looked a few weeks too early to be harvested.

"I'm no food specialist, but... well, as they say, food is food!" _Especially when it looks so ripe it would de-age one who ate it_. Just as he had expected, breakfast was both tangy and sweet this time a delicacy to behold.

After he had eaten, he packed up and move on through the woods.

He dragged his feet for two more hours through the untamed wilderness. Maxwell was surprised by the lack of roads he found as he made his way through some bushes. His sticky, yet dry mouth, reminded him of his currently dwindling water supply, that of which, he had rationed for use every two days. The Outsider's mood suddenly lifted, his ears picking up the familiar flow of flowing water.

Maxwell followed the sound until he reached the source of the sound. A calm, slow flowing river. Water flowed down on a slight slant, before taking a right turn, followed by a left turn and so on. The river seemed to go on forever from his current position, so he suspected this river led directly to the ocean.

Which was on his map.

He moved up to the river, whipped out his water container. The Outsider ducked the container into the water, allowing it to flow without his supervision. After his container had been filled, he placed it down on the ground beside him.

Then he stuck his head into the water. _Refreshing_. The thought came to him as water flowed past his hair, ears, his whole head. It was an old thought, a familiar one that brough him back to days when he was just a kid. Playing in the woods, attempting to grab fish in the streams, annoying the hell out of his neighbors.

"Augguuuguh..." Maxwell attempted to speak underwater, only air bubbles flying out of his mouth in response. He brought his head up for much need oxygen, water trickled down his head, clouded his sight. _Man, this is gonna be a pain in the skull to deal with. At least the water's fresh._

The Outsider shook his head, sent water droplets flying out of his head. His hair soaked up water like a sponge, as he could feel their weight on his head. This didn't eliminate his problem as water still flowed down from his hair, but the issue seemed to be manageable for the time being _. I think I'll just have it air-dry. Sun seems to be at good warmth today._

* * *

Maxwell followed the river the rest of the morning and into the afternoon as well. He had gotten bored with passing the time by attempting to name birds he had never heard of, and decided to switch to something more productive: Juggling sticks.

"Well did I ever tell ya about the time that crazy cat near'd take out me eye?" He said in his best western accent, talking to his imaginary audience. Sticks flew in the air. "Oh, so you haven't? It be the bestest and finest tale in the seven seas of America! Now here we talk of some grade-A mental delusio- Ow, yeesh!"

The Outsider lost control of his juggling material, and it all came tumbling down on his head. _Looks like I can scratch clown of my future career list. That is, implying that I get out of this monster-girl world. Implying that I'd actually leave this world and return to a robot-like existance._

As he rubbed the sore spot on his head, Maxwell spotted a group of oak trees not too far away from him, huddled together on a spot next to the river. They looked good for cover, if he were stopping for the night.

He didn't stop to rest, instead soldiered on through the woods. He reached an area where the mountains were visible on the other side and felt his ears twitch. They picked up a sound, one opposed to the river that flowed nearby.

Grunts of effort, steel against steel, a cry of pain. The telltale signs of a fight up ahead.

Maxwell paused for a brief second, then he continued forward. Going around the fighting group would waste more boring minutes and much-needed energy. _Plus, with all their fighting and grunting, it shouldn't be too hard to just slip through the chaos. They got better things to worry about, such as when the blade is going to slice them up next!_

He broke into a quick stride, hurrying across the plains. He didn't bother to hide his presence, nor did he attempt to avoid any sticks or leaves on the ground. The Outsider placed his bets on the sounds of fighting covering his approach.

Within minutes he arrived at the scene, crouched behind a green bush. Only a few yards in front of him, a caravan laid under attack from people who he assumed to be bandits. Both sides appeared to be in a current stalemate, none gaining any land on the other.

 _I would think humans would have enough problems on their plate with all the monsters in the world, yes? Maybe they enjoy the idea of self-extinction. Or it could this be a fight for wealth? That I'd understand... personally really. Can't say it bothers me too much, leaves me room to do what I want._ Maxwell preocupied himself with the thought as he readjusted his sack.

He stepped into the open, where he knew both groups could get a clear look at him. As he had guessed, neither side noticed nor made movement to acknowledge his presence; for they were to busy with stabbing holes into each other.

For a moment The Outsider frowned, disappointed that his movement had gone without retaliation. He might as well not even be in the area at this point. "Well that's enough moping about not getting attacked, time to move on."

With skills honed from his life back on his Earth, Maxwell sneaked past the group, kept his body to the ground as if it would make him blend into the scenery around him. He crouched as he neared the carriage, kept a distance between it and him. He glanced at it, ended up staring for longer than he intended.

Another cry of pain rang through the air, but it seemed so far away.

Something told hi- no, it urged him, begged at him to go into the carriage. "I wonder what the 'gods' want from me," he voiced out loud. Now that _something_ won over him over, pulled him closer to the carriage.

The Outsider stepped forward, unto a ledge attached to the carriage. He kicked its doors open, the sudden 'thud' in the air did nothing to alert those fighting in front of him. Both the caravan and the bandits were presumably heavily invested in their fight.

"Man, when will it ever end?" More blades clashed against each other in the not-so-far distance, a man hit against the carriage, caused it to rumble slightly. He nearly lost his balance on the carriage and waved his arms to regain his positioning. "Stupid laws of physics!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Maxwell slowly turned his head to meet the source of laugh, the reason he had entered into the carriage.

It was a man, thirty or thirty-one, to judge by his appearance. His hair laid untamed, a few strands covered one of his eyes, with the slightest hint of yellow present in them. He wore a simple brown shirt adorned with string-tied vest, which had the strings untied. His pants were a dark black, and stopped where his leather shoes began.

The Outsider frowned at the man's mocking laugh. "Yes, laugh all you want. But I'm no monkey circus performer, never would've gotten into that business. I'm sure I would've been having a death match with the lion in at least a week." And to think he had come to the carriage just to get laughed at. What a joke. He sighed, took a seat on the opposite of the vehicle.

"Circus performer?" The man's mouth danced in confusion. His face remained faced down. "What do you mean by that?"

Maxwell pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. The humans here did not know of circuses. How backwards could they be? "It's... nothing. What 'does' mean something is, why is this fight taking so long?! It's been like ten, twenty minutes... and these bastards have managed not to kill each other out yet!" His gaze wandered from from the man's hair, and he let them drift around the carriage, to pick up the little details. Such as the sliver of silver in one of the man's hands.

And then he knew, he understood his purpose in the caravan.

The man shrugged. "I wouldn't know. My companions tend to fight over dumb things sometimes, or a lot. Sometimes, I wonder if they start some of these fights on their own. But, if the fight continues for much longer, my caravan will be off schedule. Make it hard to get reservations," he responded, voice deep and steady.

"I see;" The Outsider fidgeted in his seat, slid a hand into one of his back pockets. " Sometimes the act of reserving space is a problem for me too, y'know. Especially when people bring _metallic_ objects unto the flight. Ruins the whole experience."

In a flash, the men went from stationary to a blur, struck before he could be attacked, lunging forward with his right hand outstretched.

Maxwell was already in movement, high above the boy, crouched in the limited space provided by the carriage. He swiped down, a flash of silver flew forward. A sudden thud alerted him that his aim and luck had been clear. He landed on the other side of the carriage, used footholds to reduce the sound of the fall.

It wouldn't matter, surely one of the men from the caravan's group would be sent to check on the goods. Or the dead associate in this case.

The Outsider bent down, plucked out his stylus and stared at the pupils that slowly grew larger in the man's sockets. _Man, that bloodlust. Did he think that it would be impossible to see? With the glint in both his eye and blade? Didn't even have to use my abilities for that one, maybe it was thanks to old age? Gramp's slipped up._ The eyes still maintained their hunger, their thirst for flesh, even after death.

He silently watched the blood flow out from the wound provided by the sharp tip. It occurred to him that this was the first human he had killed in this world. Others that had annoyed him had been merely beaten down. With wounds of course, but nonetheless, they had remained alive.

That didn't explain the feeling of exhilaration he felt in his person, the deep joy in his heart. But deep down, he knew the true reason for his glee. "I fight fate... and I won. Freedom, it's coming, maybe? Three steps at a time, as they say." The sentence replayed in his mind as he climbed out of the carriage and ran into the greenery, leaving the caravan behind him.


	18. Interlude A

**Man, never thought I'd get it done. Got over 10k views on this story now, about 11k and growing.**

 **I decided in regards with this little milestone, I ought to switch up the perspectives a bit, take the spotlight away from our grand protagonist. Maybe try what they call "world building".**

 **Anyways, time to head on with the chapter! Give your favs, reviews and comments afterword!**

* * *

"Rauiuuuugh! Auuuughhh... gel...! Ellow!"

The creature let out the incomprehensible garble as it slammed against the bars that kept it in its cell. The bars turned yellow at the touch and the smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air.

The creature leaped back from the bars, could not anything but pure anger. It did not think, it did not reason, it could not comprehend. It was an abomination, a combination of one rather unfortunate angel and assorted muscles that contracted and expanded every few seconds. They moved in and out of the creature, created a mass large enough to take up over a third of the cell. The angel body was indistinguishable from the mass of muscle; at this point it had practically became a four-limbed creature.

"Auuuughhhh! Mauuuughhh! Gathhheughhh!"

The creature growled at the bars that were slowly turning back from yellow to black. As before, it mimicked its previous actions and slammed its mass against the bar. It roared. The bars went yellow. More flesh burned.

A lone angel scribbled down notes on a clipboard, then with a gloved hand pressed on one of the many buttons at the desk she was sitting at. She held the button until a click could be heard, then she spoke.

"Subject three-two-seven is not showing any signs of progression in any way, knowledge based or otherwise. It appears to still be unable to realize that slamming against its bars brings it pain," the angel said with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

A loud crackling from above indicated a response from the other side.

 _Although these results are rather meagre, it is to be expected. Combining_ _one of those incompetent ninth circle angels with an equally intelligent mass of living muscle would not yield for high results. At the very least, I expected at least some measure of self-preservation action. Even a cry for help would've satisfied me_ , a feminine voice laughed dryly out from one of the overhead speakers.

The angel looked up from her notes to glance at Three-two-seven. It had moved on from bashing its head against the cage, instead settling for gnawing on the yellow-hot bars, searing parts of its mouth at the touch.

She frowned, muscles taking on an unfamiliar shape. The angel had been told that it had acted in a manner similar to the creature in the cell once upon a time. Only instead of a mindless beast, she had been a mindless nymphomaniac: A sex-crazed, sex-based creature. She didn't know much of the story behind her sudden leap in intelligence, only that it was regarded as a closely kept secret only known by her superiors.

Despite her calm, businesslike expression, a shiver went through her wings. One at the thought of reverting back to a mindless beast, becoming a creature that thought no longer, had no more choices, just thoughtless instinct.

She let out an airless laugh. Perhaps her own preservation instincts were kicking in.

The angel almost felt pity for the beast. _Almost_. If the experiments or beasts- as she preferred to refer them as -were unable to evolve and gain intelligence just as she had done, then they could burn in with the monsters in hellfire for all she cared.

The angel tapped the button again, waited for the sound of a click before speaking. "How should I deal with the... failed experiment?" A few seconds of silence passed before she received a response.

 _Belae[1]. I am sure that this instruction has been repeated to you multiple times throughout the trials and test runs. Or is this the first time that you have partaken in such an activity? Do I need to run the procedures by you again?_

The angel named Belae swallowed a gulp of air, a single bead of sweat ran down her forehead. "N- No, Promestein. It is not necessary."

 _Good. Because I currently do **not** have the time nor the will to be babysitting you_. Despite the fact that Promestenn tone elicited no emotion, Belae couldn't help but feel her skin crawl with dread. Perhaps the way the words were given was what caused the reaction in the first place. _Take three-two-seven to the pit and report back to me in the Hub afterwards._

"It shall be done."

With those words the line went silent, a sign that the connection had been cut off.

The angel floated up from her seat and grabbed a simple long-sleeved buttoned up shirt to cover herself with. That and a pair of cotton-made panties.

"Guauggh! Augghguhguh! Maughugh!" The mindless creature continued to vocalize its anger with incomprehensible nonsense, bashing its mass of muscle against the cage repeatedly.

 _That thing is... such a disgusting creature._ Belae outstretched her hand in the direction of experiment three-two-seven and sent out a thin ray of light that passed by the bars, into the cell, and right through the muscle mass that was known as 'Experimental Subject Number three-two-seven.

The creature froze in place for a moment, silent. Its 'limbs' attempted to find a stable hold on the ground, before they lost their consistency, splitting apart to form a large singular muscle mass in the cell.

The attack did not have enough power to kill- the angel had made sure of that -but it would keep three-two-seven silent and in its place. For the short remainder of time that its life contained, that is.

Belae lowered her hovering height to a few inches above the ground, then flew out the passageway.

She reached an intersection and there she changed direction. Left. Towards the basement and lower floors held within. It was there that she would be able to complete her given duty.

...Perhaps routine would be a more fitting word, now that she had been assigned to deal with the same tasks every day. Come into contact with experiment, examine experiment, record and send data to Promestein, determine if said experiment is a failure or success. Transport experimental subject to either the pit, Drain Lab or another part of the facility determining on the results gained.

 _Maybe I should have considered taking on Promestein's offer to join her 'Seekers of Truth' group instead of deciding to stay and manage the various experiments in heaven's laboratory. Although, I do have the ability to look into my own interests with spare time, so it's not like I'm trapped in a never-ending pattern. That would be a rather unsatisfactory outcome_. Belae thought over her current situation. Maybe she could ask Promestein to join her group sometime in the future.

In the meantime, she'd let things carry on as they were. Promestein would continue to create more subjects in the laboratory, Belae would determine their usefulness and through that, achieve her own agendas.

Double doors unlocked and slid open. Despite her clothing, the angel ever so subtly shuddered and vibrated her wings as she entered the basement areas of the laboratory. Then again, she had worn some rather light clothing.

Even one as herself- an angel with a purely heavenly body -could completely withstand the cold temperatures of the basement. A human would've had its blood frozen in the first one and a fourth minutes of encountering such temperatures. Belae knew this for a fact, as she had tested the survival chance of a human with one taken from another angel. The results didn't bode so well for the human.

Cold air blasted out from- what her boss and mentor had referred to as -'vents' that were set up every twenty or so feet away from each other.

Promestein had informed her that she had set the temperature such a low degree in order to keep the corpses and bodies she retrieves on her absences free for future experimentation and subject use.

The basement did not have any bright color schemes and Belae was somewhat relieved at that; shining 'warm' colors had been getting quite redundant in heaven. The tile was light gray, lit by tiny cubes of light that ran across the ceiling.

She then faced two more doors, both crafted with heavy metal, and reinforced with a multitude of Earth-type and Holy-type spells, most of them harmless. Only Promestein entered the leftmost door. Belae directed her attention to the door on the right, pressed her hand against a metal plate on the wall.

A ticklish sensation went through her hand, as she felt tendrils of Earth coil around each and every crevice of her palm. This was apparently what Promestein had called the Hand Angel Print Scanner, or H.S.P.A. for short. As the name said, it was able to detect an angel based on a print of their hand.

As far as security measures went, this was one of the most elaborate ones in the whole facility, the other being an elaborate system set up by Promestein that prohibited teleportation of any kind. However, just like many of the other measures in the building it too was susceptible to brute force, but that seemed like an unneeded advantage.

After all, who would be stupid enough attempt to derail Promestein's experimentation and risk taking its place as well?

Thoughts complete, she pushed open the door and felt her hair stir slightly, with a bit more force than what one might excuse as the sudden diffraction in air pressure.

The hairs on the back of the angel's neck rose. _An intruder?! Who would be this foolish..?!_ Belae immediately swirled her head around, outstretched an arm in the general direction behind, while keeping one up front. She mentally prepared multiple fire-based spells, ready to strike at a moments notice.

The angel quickly scanned over the immediate area around her... and came up with not a single detection. Not even a quick scrying spell had come up with a single insect, let alone a larger humanoid-based creature.

"Perhaps I'm being much too suspicious of my surroundings today. It was probably just an unusually strong blast of cold air," Belae reassured herself. However, it came of as much more than a self-delusional tactic than anything else.

She disengaged the spells before continuing down the hall, this time with much more caution than before.

* * *

Of course, Promestein being the intelligent angel that she was, had one more reason for keeping the temperature in the basement so low: To keep the test subjects that managed to survive the trials and experiments in a state that would keep them from being hassle to deal with on a daily basis.

At regular intervals down the hallway, there were cells. Most of them had reinforced steel to keep the test subjects in, with a window to allow one to view the inside. Only a few of them had mechanisms in place that would allow them access out of the cell.

Each cell held an occupant. Numbers engraved into the cell helped to keep track of each individual test subject, which were matched with numbers branded on the corresponding subject inside.

Belae gave those inside the cell a small greeting. "Salutations, test beasts," she said in a condescending tone, just as she had done the past five times she had been down there.

Even though the cold temperatures kept most of the test subjects from dealing massive damages in the basement, it did nothing to stop the angry glares and curses she got as she walked past. They were nothing to her, an angel with much higher intelligence than the vile beasts.

It was rare when an experiment capable of moving freely in the Subzero temperatures appeared in the basement. And each time they appeared, without fail, they ignored the commands, the signs that told them not to attempt escape and broke out of their cell, lashing out at anything in movement. Usually Promestein, the creature within the pit, or herself.

They either learned the first time or were unable to learn again.

"Time to deal with test subject three-two-seven." Belae's voice resulted in an outcry, the test subjects in the cells closest to her recognizing her presence, shouting, swearing, insulting her in over sixteen different ways. A rare smile stretched her lips. "How creative... but you'll need to do better than this, to get a so called 'rise' out of me."

That said, she pushed another door open.

If the area compassing the floor above her had been twice as wide as the ones on the first basement floor, this was larger still.

The area was a vast, dark place, consisting of only a singular room that she was in. There were four pillars, each one set an equal distance apart from one another around a giant hole that seemed to go on down into the ground forever: The Pit. Perhaps it did.

"I come with yet another disgusting meal for you," Belae announced her presence in the room, eliciting a loud groan from within the pit.

She flew forward, towards a system of joysticks in front of her. Each of the joysticks were connected to chains, which were connected to a system of specific gears built into the laboratory's walls. This allowed one to reach for multiple areas of the lab at once, one of them being the initial testing area for the test subjects.

Belae lowered one of the joysticks- Joystick AC-39 to be exact -and waited. About four minutes into her waiting, she got the reaction she'd been waiting for. It started with the grinding of a simple gear, then it escalated, the grinding moving from one gear to next, up until the entire room began to rattle with the mechanism's actions.

Then one of the walls opened up, revealing a passage of gears and levers. But the part Belae had been focused on was the body flying out from the passage: Test Subject three-two-seven. It was silent, eerily so. Even as its massive muscle mass flew over the angel's head and over the pit.

It suddenly froze, stuck in midair.

Caught by a single tentacle that emerged from the depths of the darkness at lightning speeds. If the angel had blinked, she would've missed it, the sudden impalement of test subject three-two-seven. She considered herself lucky that the being in the pit was sentient enough to recognize her as one of Promestein's employees. If she could call herself that.

Belae let herself drop closer to the ground. She kept herself a fair distance away as she examined the plant matter vines that latched unto the stone pillars, while others tore the test subject into pieces.

She knew that the monster was of great importance to Promestein, if the hours the scientist had spent with it indicated anything. But she did not know _why_ Promestein dedicated so much time to such a simple creature. In Belae's eyes, the only thing that made the monster unique was the fact that it was plant matter, was of great size and had the ability to live at freezing temperatures.

Maybe Promestein decided to shift more of her works to those with a root in plant matter, such as the chimera she'd sent out to another one of her labs. But the _why_ factor still remained.

 _Perhaps I should ask Promestein about the importance of plant life when I meet her in the la-_

Belae didn't get to finish her thoughts as pain erupted in her head, caused her to fall to the ground. She let out a soft moan, brought a hand up to rub her temples.

"What... How could a mental attack be used without any occupants in the are-?!" The angel didn't let the throbbing pain in her keep her incapacitated. She cast a light water-type spell on herself, took the optimal paths, darted from her original position.

She quickly assessed her situation, took account of the recent mental attack on her. The spell hadn't been enough to fully incapacitate her, which suggested that she was facing an ill-prepared foe.

Belae didn't know when, how or where her adversary would strike, but she wouldn't give it a chance to attack again.

 _Fire_ , she thought inwardly. Short, simple and right to the point.

She clenched her hands, then unclenched them. A gigantic wave of flame rushed out from her open palms, engulfing the entire area behind her. She didn't worry about accidental damage to the building; it had been built to handle much more than a few stray flames. The intelligent angel kept a few of the flames active, just to warm herself.

Belae could hear the gasp as a fell from the air and hit the ground. She straightened her clothes, floated forward and studied the confusion and fear on the one who had fallen.

An angel, just as she had suspected. A 'fellow' cupid, to be exact, one with long brown hair. She used that word with great displeasure, disgusted by the fact that she had been once been one among many angels, that were of the brain-dead nymphomaniacs.

"Y-You..."

An incredibly weak, raspy voice broke the silence in the room. Belae looked forward and saw that the angel was slowly bringing herself back to her feet. As she forced herself up, Belae couldn't help but notice the fact that her skin was lightly scorched and that any open wounds on her had frozen. The angel only had undergarments on, the rest of her clothing wiped out by fire.

Belae frowned. She had been aiming not to incapacitate, not to maim, but to **kill**. The subzero temperatures in the basement were probably to thank for her failed murder.

The intelligent angel slowly dropped to the floor. "You. Please explain to me what exactly possessed you to try to stop me from doing my duty, cupid?" She asked, not bothering to hide the disgust in her tone.

The cupid took a step back away instead. She solidified a bow out of thin air, aimed it towards Belae, the bow wavered in her grip.

"It is best that you do not try to attack me. You'll miss," Belae said with a hint of superiority. It was not a taunt, or a brag, but just a simple fact. Those were the most efficient at breaking the spirit. "And then I'll close in, strike you. The wounds on your body are still open, yes? It'll be a painful slow roast, one that I would regret giving you." _But that would be a lie._

Slowly, she saw the cupid's bow lying at her side.

"Bu-But, I just can't end this here."

"It can and it 'will' be ending, cupid. Now how about you exit the premisis, and we can talk."

"I can't. She'd have my ass. And I enjoy it very much." The cupid sounded almost defeated.

"There are only two options, cupid. You can either tell me who sent you here to spy, trail behind me and mess with my work, or you can stay in this complex. _Permanently_."

"That... can not happen! I'm sorry, but for Miss Eden, you must go!" The cupid raised her bow, and in quick succession, fired an arrow forward.

Belae didn't even flinch as the arrow flew forward. There was a metallic, bell-like clang and the cupid's arrow was knocked out of the air by a sword of flames summoned without the slightest bit of effort. She smiled at the cupid, but without the usual warmness a smile would contain. A condescending smile. A sneer.

"Did I not inform you that such acts were useless against me here? Were you unable to recognize your own status? Are you a fool, begging to throw away her life?" She dematerialized her sword, it broke into multiple embers. Belae lightly rose a hand. "Then again, you did reveal who had sent you here, so I must thank you, even if you are a fool."

 _SNAP SNAP SNAP!_

Three snaps emitted from Belae's hands.

A loud groan emitted from the depths of the pit. Green plant-matter vines rose to the surface, each one overlapping one another as they got a hold on the support pillars. However, most of the vines had their tips pointed towards the angels' position.

To be more exact, the cupid's direction.

As if everything had fallen into place, the cupid fell to the ground and cowered, frozen in place. "N-No...! Y-You... w-w-wouldn't, yo-you can't!" Even though the cupid's voice was so weak, Belae could clearly hear the terror strangling her every word. Her eyes were wide and radiated with so much fear she could almost feel it as the cupid let out a dry cough.

Belae walked up to the cupid, reached down, and pulled the cupid up by her hair. "Yes. I will do it, and I can do it," she said mockingly, as she smashed the cupid's face into the stone tiling.

She then set the cupid's undergarments aflame, which attracted the attention of the vines. She made it to the doorway before she paused. "You may feast now." The intelligent angel ignored the eyes of pure hatred which stabbed at her right before they were ripped from their sockets, along with the accompanying head. The sounds of the cupid's screams filled the air, up until she had been fully dragged into the pit.

 _I wonder what Promestein is planning to use that thing for... a monster completely capable of feasting on a purely holy angel._

* * *

The door slid open. Belae floated in, a clipboard tucked under one arm.

Her boss and mentor, Promestein was present. She looked the same she always did, with a white lab coat, beige sweater and a skirt. She stared at multiple data sheets, each one much more complex and extravagant than the next.

"As you've told me to do so, I've dealt with three-two-seven accordingly. There has also been another intruder, this one sent from the Third Seraph Eden."

"I'm aware." Promestein didn't look up from her work.

"What should be done about this?"

"Nothing. If we were to go and confront Eden on her sending cupids to spy on us, it would only alert that her tactics are not working against laboratory, and she'd switch to more discreet options, those of which would be harder to detect. It is better to allow these angels to continue spying on us; it gives Eden the delusion that she's actually doing something and any deaths can always be disguised as ones caused by one of our test subjects. There would be no way to disprove our claims." Promestein looked up from her data charts and gave Belae a glance. "Now what would you have done?"

"U-Uh... I have not exactly formulated an idea yet." The truth was much more embarrassing: Belae had thought about going straight to the source of the problem and fixing the cupid issue. So she decided to change the subject. "So, why did you summon me to the hub?"

"Changing the subject? No matter, it's not exactly important anyway. As for why I call you here, I come to inform you that we may have to slightly adjust our plans thanks to some outside circumstances."

Belae grimaced. She didn't like the tone in Promestein's voice. "What outside circumstances?"

"A human."

"But why?" Belae asked, discreetly rolling her eyes. She didn't know of any humans capable of ruining their plans. That would be something that would catch her eye, even with Promestein's guidance. "Most humans are weak, feeble creatures. I think it would be ridiculous to think they would be able to disru..." She trailed off, a sudden memory popped into her head. "Are you talking about that human you chatted with at the mansion?"

"Yes."

"But he is still a human, not even half-monster blooded or filled with the long-forgotten blood of an angel! Can't even use magic. Sure, he may be visually different and has a bit of luck that makes him hard to reign in, but ultimately, he is, still a mortal human. Incapable of becoming a threat to us."

Promestein leaned forward and grabbed some kind of sleek, black rectangular object from a cabinet. It glowed when she tapped a button on its side. "That is exactly where our problem lies."

Belae remained silent, gestured for her mentor to continue.

She continued to speak, even as she jotted down more data. "That human, he's a wildcard, an anomaly. The things he does, some of them happen to benefit us, and others manage to delay our operations, although that isn't much of as loss. That is what makes this human a massive threat to us. He does not appear to have any obvious motives for his actions, they just appear to be done on the spot."

"Maybe we ought to rid of him."

"No, that course of action is not recommended. Honestly, I'd like for him to continue doing what he does; there are things I'd like to look into with him, at a later date that is. Ilias finds the human very useful for her own devices anyway." Promestien muttered something under her breath that Belae couldn't catch.

Belae frowned, not liking the fact that Ilias herself stood in her path. "Perhaps we ought to manipulate the events on the surface world for our advantage, guide him over to our side."

"No, that would be nearly impossible. If we can not discern his motives, the reasoning behind his actions, he can not be guided, led along a favorable path. If we attempted to guide him without knowing any of his motives, we would only be setting ourselves up for an unfavorable outcome."

Belae frowned again. "How about utilizing brute force?"

Promestein looked up from the objectand met her gaze, rising an eyebrow. "No. Manipulations of the mental processes don't... give the desired effect on this particular human. We'll have to take more risks furthering our agendas."

"What risks?"

"If we're to complete our tasks with the path with the lowest chance of failure, we have to expand our horizons. Spread out our influence in the surface world."

"Creating more chances for us to be exposed?"

"Far more chances," Promestein said. "But sometimes risks have to be taken in order for progress to be made."

"Exactly how are these operations going to start up? And how would we control the cupids? We can't have them flying around, or we'd bring about our own destruction."

"I was thinking about using you on the surface world, Belae."

The angel nearly fell out of her chair in surprise. "Me?" She said, pointing at herself.

"Yes, you," Promestein said, almost mockingly. She then stood up from her seat and walked over to a cabinet file, opened the drawer. After a few seconds, she closed the file and made her way back to the table, this time with a manila folder in hand.

Belae caught the name of the folder, a folder she had looked at many times herself: Grangold - Queen Ant Mentality - Success.

Promestein smiled, an expression rarely seen on her face. "I see that you already know what the contents of this folder contain, yes?"

She nodded. "Correct. I have delved quite a bit into the subject. I'll be heading back to Grangold to add more features and upgrades to the seal, I take it?"

"No. The seal can be left alone, it is fine how it is for now; maybe later I'll head back down there. I'm not sure what you'd be contributing anyway. We need to make a 'mark' on the surface world, target a greater city with obvious anti-monster sentiments."

"San Ilia?"

Promestein shrugged, her attention now on a floating screen before her. The rectangular object was still glowing, showing a vision of some kind of building. "It'll do, large enough area. It will take me a couple days to gather and prepare all the supplies needed for your mission. You have at least five or six days to prepare, at the most."

"Thank you."

Belae left the room, along with her clipboard. She flew from the hub to the hallway that led to her own office.

She still didn't know the force that made her so different from the other cupids. All she knew was that she had been gifted with a superior intelligence, one greater than most of the other ninth-circle angels. Maybe it was a stroke of luck.

The angel dryly laughed at that thought.

The fact that this intelligence had come to her natural, a sudden boost in evolution, had begun to detach itself from her mind. Or perhaps already had, and she was only deluding herself into thinking this had been done by her own efforts. Was _she_ any better than the beasts herself, only remaining smarter thanks to the efforts of an outside influence.

In any case, she had to prepare to go to the surface world, spread the lab's influence throughout the world.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd find the answers to her questions there as well.

* * *

1\. Name based on the Tower of Babel, in which man built a tower up to god, boasting of their great and mighty strength and wisdom... only to get knocked down by the one who had given them such things.


	19. Laid Back

Red lightning ripped across the landscape, following its own path, broke every rule that was set for electricity. It danced over the top of houses, running across concrete, left scorch marks wherever it went. It touched objects that should've grounded it, but it continued to run along the ground, leaping up into yellow clouds.

That was the environment Maxwell found himself in after he had regained consciousness.

...Only it appeared more like a strange dream, one with everything he had learned in physics class thrown out the window and left to be forgotten forever.

"I always knew I'd never be needing that crap anywhere in life," Maxwell said while he pushed himself up from the ground. He paused to take a look around, to get a sense of his surroundings.

There was a flash of lightning, and a building collapsed, the one to his right. Fire and smoke rose from its charred remains.

However, the fire too, broke free of its natural laws. Instead of remaining on the ground air should, it instead merged with the smoke, formed a fair-sized column that went up into the skies.

 _There is this distinct fee-_

Maxwell fell to one knee and placed a hand on his head, to ease the sudden, splitting pain. He felt the ringing in his ears, and waited till they subsided. He thought slowly, as if he were treading on thin ice. _Pain from hard thought? Why, I notice it not before... I'm in the godforsaken Abyss again!_

The world around him shook in place and red lightning struck the ground once more as he completed his meager thoughts.

Maxwell moved back unto his feet, this time working not to formulate any thoughts with cohesion. He began to run, moved for a building that had not collapsed in on itself, away from the deathtrap known as the outdoors.

 _Crackle! Scheechaw!_ An arc of lightning diverted from its current path, curved to meet Maxwell's path.

However, it didn't make the slightest difference. He kept moving, didn't slow down. He wouldn't bow down to what was probably a figment of the far reaches of his imagination.

The lightning struck forward.

Maxwell stepped to the side, grabbed a metal pipe that lied on the ground and swung at the lightning. Usually, such an act would be suicide, seeing as how lightning and metal were practically the best of buddies. But in the Abyss, all the rules of physics had been thrown out the window, ready for readjustments.

 _Clang!_

His makeshift bat had met with the arc of lightning, and diverted it into two parts, created a path for him to get by. And with that, he moved through the path, resuming his forward momentum. "Try again, next time!" Maxwell mockingly waved at the lightning as he move-

The building he had been moving towards collapsed in on itself as well. "So are you just playing with me, mind?!" He shook an angry fist.

He moved towards the collapsed building, used a piece of plywood as a lever, sent himself skyward. He reached the apex of his flight, then used his ability to spin the air below him, generated a little lift. The world shook again, and his power flickered out.

"Wooazah!" He managed to grab hold of a ledge on the wall before he fell to his doom and began climbing upward. He stepped over unto a rooftop, then slowly walked over to the edge.

 _Gotta holada, this... my mind..? Was not... this messed up... last time around._ Maxwell stared up into the yellow clouds.. "You have some explainin' to do Miss... uh, uh, um..." With a frown, he realized that he had forgotten about the woman's name. The name of the one who had practically brought him to the Abyss in the first place, no less.

As much as he racked his memories, all he could come up with was the memory of some oversized sword that did not have any place in realistic combat. Then again, he had been transferred into an anime-esque world...

Maxwell shook his head. There was no need for him to waste his brainpower on oversized swords. Another lightning strike, this one only a mere six meters away from him, was a reminder that this wasn't the place or time for free thoughts to roam either.

He cupped his hands together, took in a deep breath, prepared himself for the mental onslaught and yelled. "Oy, you giant, impractical sword lady! If you'd be so kind to let me see the other side of the rainbo- Huh!" With a gasp Maxwell stopped as he felt something move through his chest, an odd cold sensation passed through him. He looked down to see a blade protruding from his chest.

He crumpled to his knees.

"So, 'Impractical sword lady', huh? I don't remember 'that' being the name I gave you." The voice, almost a whisper, blew against his ears. She walked forward, leaving the sword lodged in his person.

Maxwell let out a laugh. "So? You weren't plot relevant for like... the past few chapters, how could I possibly remember a background character like you? Also, if you're trying to intimidate me, you're failing. Don't allow the person you're trying to scare to learn that he's free from pain with that sword of yours. I'm not so sure that the lightning and fire share similar stories however." He coughed, smiled as he did so. He knew that by this point, back on the normal world, he would've already been stained with blood.

And probably dead with a slice of half-dead cake on top.

"Me, Daydream, not being... 'plot relevant'?" The blade twisted an inch as she spat out the words. It would've been a more effective action if the blade was capable of transmitting pain. "Would you care to explain _that_ for me?"

Now the conversation was heading into _Meta_ territory. Not a good place to be. Maxwell feigned a look of surprise. "What do you mean? I didn't say nothing..." He trailed off when he noticed that his body began to pixelate, starting with the area where the sword had pierced his chest.

"Fuck. And right when I was starting to have my fun too," she pouted, showing an expression that would've caused lesser men to immediately give up the spirit with nothing else to lose.

But for the better or worse, Maxwell was not a lesser man. "Ha ha ha! Why look at the time! Seems like it it's time for me to leave this place and re-enter the land of the living! The day of the rope has not come for me yet!" He waved a semi-transparent hand at her before it shattered into a million pixels that floated to meet the other pixels in the red sky above.

With Maxwell gone, the sword clattered to the ground.

Daydream moved to pick it up and stabbed it into the roof. She stared at her reflection with a half-grin, half-frown. "With all this irregularity, soon enough, the irregularities in this mind may just spill out into the inner workings of the abyss." Lightning struck a house across from her and she felt herself shiver, as if the lightning had struck her instead.

Her eyes shined, glowing with intensity. With purpose.

"And it is my duty... To keep the collective consciousness in perfect condition. Unsullied." She slowly raised her oversized sword, and swung it down. The street, struck by a thousand slashes in a second, whittled to nothing. Then the clouds was next, as it was without protection.

The slashes that followed parted the sky itself.

* * *

Maxwell had been traveling for a couple hours straight, and ended up finding himself falling into an easy routine. The path alongside the river was fairly well trod and he had barely came across any monster girls in the on the way. As the sun began to slowly rise into its highest position, heralding the arrival of noon, he stopped in his tracks.

He reached into his bag, took out the map inside.

"Hmm, here appears to be a mini lake up ahead," Maxwell mumbled as he wiped at the sweat building up on his brow. "I think I'll just have to let myself stop by. Give myself some time to cool down. Lord knows how long its been since I've had a vacation. Then again, this whole world could be a vacation. So I'll be having a rest within a vacation. The double-vaca special!"

If he was lucky, the water would be a few temperatures warmer than the river, the perfect temperature for dunking bodies in. The river was cool, but _its_ cool didn't match up with Maxwell's swimming preferences. Too cold.

Some twigs crackled to his left, off the main path. Maxwell paused suddenly. _It seems like I'll be doing a bit more work before that vacation bonus._ He dropped his hand into a pocket, prepared for what might come.

It did not take long for the source of the sound to appear. A monster with the body of a human woman waist up and the lower body of a horse. Her breath was uneven, ragged. Long brown hair.

A centaur.

"P-Please, traveler. I... have a reques-"

"Save it for the judge." Maxwell drew a stylus, spun and threw it. Aimed for one of the legs. Enough to maim, but not to kill. Maybe. He didn't know how horses worked.

She lifted her hooves before it could make contact.

"W-Wait..! You just don't u-understand!" The centaur fidgeted both her legs and hands together. "I... It's mating season! My-"

"Nice backstory," Maxwell said with a shrug. Now, on top of the sweat, he had a hormonal monster horse girl to deal with. He had surely reached the peak of his life. "Doesn't mean I actually care, but it's nice. But I mean, why a human? Can't you like, go fuck a horse?"

Despite being in heat, the centaur retained enough sense-of-self to look angry. "How could you think that just because I am a centaur, I'd actually have sex with a horse?! Do I look like an animal to you?!"

This was getting too easy. He had not been trying to push the centaur's buttons this time around. But he might as well play along. "Hmm... Horse body? Check. Mating season? Double check. In heat? Triple check. Congratulations, you passed the 'Are you an animal test'! You should be proud!" Maxwell exclaimed with faux glee, and an all too real smile.

With both rage and hormones in her system, the centaur trampled over to Maxwell, leaned down to grab at his shirt.

He ducked, rolled till he had his feet above him, then pushed his arms up. He kicked at the centaur's underbelly with the added help of his newly added momentum, used enough force to cause her to collapse unto her knees.

"You seem a bit on edge."

The centaur glared at him with a look that had the combination of lust, pain and anger. "Augh, haugh... augh..." She held her hands around her human torso, obviously attempting to relieve the pain.

"Y'know, acting that angry isn't good for you." Maxwell got bared teeth in response. He stood up, dusted off his clothes. "Well, I got to go... so you can just stay here and wait for the next unlucky human that comes along... or a horse."

"Huuumaaan!"

'Is it so hard for monsters to control their anger? This is getting so easy, it's becoming boring.' Maxwell pocketed the stylus he had thrown earlier, then turned to walk away, tuning out the centaur's lusty-rage calls with his own humming.

* * *

"Man, this is nice... just what the doctor ordered."

Maxwell had rolled up his pant legs as far as he could, while he sat in the shallow end of the lake, where he could sit on the shore and not risk getting his entire person wet at once.

He kept his clothes on and his gear nearby, in case a human or monster decided to interrupt his peace and attack him. Although, in the monster's case, it'd be more akin to a rape. It _would_ be a rape.

The cool sensation against his feet traveled up his legs, to the spine, and it spread throughout his body. It beat staying in the heat and while he was not as 'cool as a cucumber', he was still kept cool nonetheless. _What I could do for a cold can of cola right about now. That stuff would just hit the spot._ Deep in food-land, Maxwell closed his eyes for a second...

...and woke up ten minutes later with a start as he heard uneven footsteps on the dirt behind him.

Probably a monster. No human walked like that- unless if they were on all fours. He chance of any stray 'regular' animals being this far from any other humans were pretty low.

Maxwell managed to hold in his surprise and kept himself lying on the ground. "Fine day we have here on the lake today?"

"Hmm hmm, water's the perfect temperature to go swimming in, and I've got a human lying right in front of me." A feminine voice that had a bit of a suggestive tone to it, responded.

 _Definitely a monster._

The monster girl of unknown type walked forward with uneven footsteps. She paused, standing next to Maxwell and then sat down to his left.

He turned his head and noticed her lack of clothes, the light-green slime esque hair, the webbed appendages, green skin and lastly, her long tongue.

A frog monster girl.

For some strange reason, she hadn't attacked him yet. She just sat there in silence, staring at him with wide light-green. eyes. Green was getting too redundant for his tastes. Maybe blue would give a nicer tone color.

Maxwell decided to initiate conversation. "So, you aren't attacking me." More of an observation than it was a question.

"No, I'm not." The frog girl grinned a predatory grin, one that showed her tiny, but sharp teeth. "But do you want me to? Because if so, then I'll really show you an attack."

He shook his head before responding, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want that. I mean, I'm sorta used to seeing all these monster girls go straight for the first human pipe they can get. Doesn't make sense to see one like you, unless if you're just trying to get me to lower my guard." _It's not working._

She let out a laugh, a mix between a shrill and some kind of high-pitched croak. "Do you really think all of us just sit around waiting for the next man to pass by?"

The first thing that popped into Maxwell's mind was Alice, the literal Monster Lord, who seemed to have better things to do than going around and raping men. If her standing by Luka's side on his little adventure meant anything.

The second were the heavenly knights. Granberia, the swordswoman and Tamamo, the nine-tailed kitsune. He didn't count Alma Elma, as she was the lustiest of three.

"I guess some of you guys actually have motivations out of sex and rape. But it's just a small amount y'know, not even a drop in the bucket." Maxwell sat up and lifted one of his legs. He refused to give her the win so easily. _The fact that some of these monsters have breeding seasons sure isn't helping her case. Like that centaur from earlier. Hope she at least found a horse by now._

The frog girl lashed out her tongue and caught a fly on the end of it. "I will admit most monsters do have constant lust on their minds-even I'm feeling those effects somewhat-but some of us can put that aside for other things," she concluded, now eating the fly.

"Like what activities? Travel, magic, playing with packmates?" Maxwell by now had taken out one of his styluses and began to dance it around his fingers. If the frog girl was unnerved, she wasn't showing it. "Actually, a better question would be, what are _you_ doing here?"

At that the frog girl shrugged. "Just for a swim. Got side-tracked talking with you, don't see many humans here, as they tend to stay on the main trail. Actually, I don't think I introduced myself yet: Amuna." She stuck out a slimy, webbed hand with shit-eating grin and all.

Maxwell stared at it for a few seconds before he met her hand with his own. He slightly blanched at the slime oozing unto his hand. "Maxwell." _Doubt anything's gonna come out of this, she said herself barely any humans even come here_. He slowly let go off Amuna's limb, then wiped his hand furiously against the submerged dirt.

She laughed with the slightest hint of mockery. "Oh, what's wrong? Can't handle a little mucous?" she cooed, and a drop fell inches beside him.

With the newly found revelation that what he thought to be slime was actually mucous, Maxwell didn't freak, didn't scream. He stopped rubbing his hands. He frowned. "No... I just have a preference. A really strong preference to not stick my hands into snot, but a still, it's a preference." He flicked off the remaining liquid off his hand.

And I just have a 'really' strong preference to constantly stay cool and wet," she retorted, whipping back some of her hair. "On the other end, what are _you_ doing here? You look like you come from the Safina region."

Maxwell had half a mind to check for himself if her 'hair' was actually hair and not just some kind of growing slime. He put off the thought. "Travels. Now I'm cooling down, flipping off the sun, all that jazz... but Safina? What would make you think I come from there?" He didn't what kind of place Safina was. When he had been looking on the map, he tended to fold it so he could focus on both his position, and the area where he was going. Safina didn't lay anywhere in those areas.

"Other than the fact that it's practically hell on Earth: Mostly sun and sand, and you look like someone who had been in the sun a little too long..." She paused, catching another insect with her tongue. "Nothing really."

 _Oh. So it's just a stupid way of spelling the 'Sahara Desert'_ _. Now that's some coincidence. Almost too close to leave it at that._ "I see. Well, I wasn't born in the Sahar- I mean Safina region. My old folks probably came from there though. Self-explanatory from there; left home, decided to go and travel the world." Not quite the truth, but the places were similar enough for him to pass it off as his origin.

"Sounds like a nice life, getting to see all the things in the world for yourself. But me," Amuna gestured to her wet, slick flesh, "I'm practically rooted here, can't go anywhere without this fresh water. I doubt I'd make it far before I dry out and end up as a husk. Now that would not be a suitable end for a beautiful monster such as I, don't you think?"

"Right," Maxwell said, with a shit-eating grin. He got back on his feet and placed on his gear, ending with his shoes. Surprisingly, he had found it enjoying his talk with the monster girl. The fact that her mind wasn't set on boning him probably helped things. He wondered what happened to Amuna to have her become like this, but decided his brainpower could be used for other things.

Such as checking out if that hair was actually hair.

"Eh?!" Amuna cried out, as a blush crept up her face. She brought up her hands to her face, but the act did nothing to hide it. She switched tactics, turned her head in the other direction instead. "What did you do that for, just touching my head for no reason?"

"No reason? Now that's where you're wrong. I just had to find out if that hair was real or not," Maxwell responded as he brought up a few strands of her hair. He smiled warmly at the look of perplexity on her face. "Nothing more and nothing less. And I have to say, that is some weird ass slime and hair mixture you got going on up there. How does it work?"

"W-Well it uh..." She started, still trying to hid her blush. "It just grows, I can't exactly control any part of it's growth, except by cutting it off."

Maxwell nodded, less interested in her response and more so in her reaction. While he was glad that Amuna had not transformed into some sex-crazed beast, her reaction brought up another issue. They were more on the _human_ range of expressions, which indicated she had probably lived by humans before, or had little experience in the dealing of monster girl related acts.

In either case, his own reaction would remain the same: One less sex-crazed beast was one less monster girl he had to deal with. And less problems usually led to an easier life, usually.

"Thanks for the information," he spoke, still smiling. He placed the few strands into a back pocket. "I'll be off, 'exploring' and what not. You'll probably see me around, or at least hear about me from others. Maybe I'll even send you a postcard."

"I doubt mail would be sent all the way out here."

"Schematics. I'll use a paper airplane then."

Maxwell didn't offer anything further. His stylus twirling in his fingers, he walked towards the edge of the hill, gave a two-fingered wave, then made his way down. He took out his map, retraced his steps and made way for the place he would stock up on material before setting off to complete his current task.

Grand Noah.


	20. Planting Seeds

It took only a few days before Maxwell started seeing other people. Farmers, lumberjacks, merchants, travelling bards, soldiers... it seemed that for each step he took the number of people around him multiplied.

The trees soon began to thin out further along the road. The outline of a large, wide stone wall came into Maxwell's view. Soon he broke out of the forest, and made his way to the gates.

The city was a seemingly endless sea of buildings, one that stretched out from one end of the horizon to the other. The outer wall was nearly as tall as the canopy of the surrounding forest behind it, but yet behind it, several buildings could be seen behind it. At the bottom of the wall was a gate; one guarded by several men in armor and large enough to allow a multitude of people to get through at once.

However, while Grand Noah did look like a nice place to be, appearances didn't matter. He wouldn't be staying long if he went along with his current needs. Maxwell planned to just stay in the city long enough to restock on all the materials he needed. While he had been fortunate enough to not need to use all his supplies at once, he wasn't sure his luck would hold as he made his way to Succubus Village. And judging from the multitude of monsters seen, that was a given.

Maybe he could allow himself a little treat during his stay. Perhaps a not so little lunch would do the trick. After all that had occurred, he surely deserved a lunch; nothing too much to ask for.

A nice large one.

Maxwell moved forward, stepping unto the first street. He pushed against people and moved through gaps, much like kids hurrying to get to class with a crowd in their way, except he wasn't hurrying. He just moved against the majority of people and monsters- a fish moving against the current.

Some people gave him varying looks; ones of annoyance, surprise, curiosity, opportunity. Maybe pushing against people was not the best strategy for movement. His 'Safinian' looks definitely weren't helping to add subtly at any rate.

"Well enough half-moping, time for me to get a move on."

* * *

Grand Noah, just like any other grand city, was filled to the brim with crowds of people. However, unlike cities Maxwell knew back home, this one had some kind of organized fighting competition. He knew of those all too well; it was rare to find one that was actually a legal operation and was not just a fight club.

He stood in front of a noticeboard, focusing most of his attention on a poster that took up its majority.

Apparently the competition was called, the Queen Cup and was overseen by... the Queen of Grand Noah. Maxwell was a bit intrigued when he saw that the prize was another orb similar to the one's he had already.

It meant that either the orbs he had were either completely useless and easy to find or that they held some unique properties, making them worthy to be given away at an event that occurred every four years.

 _The Queen Cup must be this world's brand of the Olympics. These orbs must hold some kind of special power. Maybe even I could use them_. Maxwell glanced back at his pack before shaking his head. _No. I only have my lunch left, then I'll leave this place, get side-tracked, meet a friend in the villa, then be set with my life._

As interested as he was in the competition, there was not much that could be offered to him from it. Maybe if he made good time to Succubus Village, he'd be able to make it back in time for the event. And even if he didn't get distracted on his trip, that was pushing it.

Maxwell knew he'd have to leave and come back in seven days- which was when the Queen Cup took place.

A week.

Definitely impossible for someone like him. He didn't even know how long it would take him to get to his target village. There was at least a ninety-percent guarantee he'd be sidetracked by one thing or another. Whether it be by him or thanks to an outside influence.

Or maybe he was putting too little faith in himself. The numbers were awfully high. Seventy-six percent seemed a little more accurate. Even if the numbers still weren't in his favor.

Maxwell internally grumbled as he stepped away from the noticeboard and moved towards a nearby restaurant. It held a generous amount of patrons, being in a part of time that appeared to be made up with middle clansmen. He sat down at a seat and raised a hand to place his order. Two servings of chicken, a few pieces of bread and a cup of root beer to top it all off.

As was the case with most foods, his mouth inhaled the invaders and his taste buds welcomed them. Maxwell sent it all down with a swing of his cup. He ignored the looks given to him by others, and continued to work on the rest of his food.

If anyone had aproblem with his eating style, they could go right up to his face and complain to him. Or an employee.

Not that it would make him stop. He'd probably either ignore them or laugh right in their faces. Either way, it would've a nicer alternative to just staring at him across the room.

Maxwell finished up the rest of his meal and left what seemed like a reasonable tip: nothing. He was pretty sure that this far back in time, tips hadn't been in used yet. And if they were, it would've only been seen from the upper families: something that he wasn't. At least, that was what he guessed. He didn't focus too much on medieval economics both in his free time and in mandatory education.

After leaving the restaurant, Maxwell roamed the streets for a bit before he finally left to exit the gates. There wasn't anything keeping him in Grand Noah, except for maybe the fight in the Colosseum. But the tickets for entry were outrageous. He'd lose a hundred and fifty gold coins on a single purchase alone. Not a good way to waste his money.

Especially since he could go out and fight all the people he wanted out in the wilderness. Where no one was there to uphold any rules.

* * *

"I see. So you're going to try to go up north, then west? Probably headed towards Gold Port." The guard at the gate rubbed his chin, a concerned expression on his face. "Let me warn you, it's not going to be an easy journey. You'd be going through that forest and you'd be bound to run into those Plantsect Village folks."

"Isn't that just another village?" Maxwell had seen it marked on his map but didn't waste too much time focusing on it. "Strange name it has though."

"What?!" The guard's eyes bulged out from their sockets. "You were about to head out there -in that vast wilderness- without even knowing what's happening in Plantsect?! Without evening knowing what it is?!"

"I should-"

The guard didn't even let him finish. "It's a monster village! One with both plant and insect type monsters. I've heard rumors that the two groups have dissolved into two different factions, who are both at war with each other. Well, it doesn't matter if there's a war or not; if you head in there you will be targeted and taken down. You honestly don't look like the adventuring type to me."

Maxwell ignored the guard's little quip. "So a civil war situation? It'll be mighty easy to get through that forest then, them two groups will be more focused on tearing each other apart then they'll be on a lone human." _Just like back home._ "Though, I don't understand why you guys aren't taking advantage over this."

"What do you mean?"

Maxwell blinked. "With these two groups tearing each other apart, all it'd take to end it all would be one large, united outside force..." He slowly closed his hands together and spread them apart. Allowed the silence to speak for him.

"We're not exactly looking for a reason to get ourselves into a war among ourselves, either. You do forget that we have monsters in this city as well, some of which that come from Plantsect themselves."

"Yes, yes." Insignificant details. Could easily be ignored for the greater good: More land and less annoyances to deal with. _If more conflict can't be found, it can always be created. Artificially._ "Well, I think I'd be heading off now."

"I suggest that you wait for a caravan. You'd have to wait till next week, though."

"Next week?" Maxwell frowned. He didn't like the thought of prancing around in Grand Noah doing a whole lot of nothing for a week. It just wasn't him. "Sorry but not sorry, I'll be passing on that offer."

He walked away from the gates before the guard could say anything else to try and change his mind.

A couple days of walking wasn't what Maxwell had expected. From the what the guard said, he'd expected to be ambushed at least several times. He did come across the occasional traveler. Most kept to themselves, sparing the nod at the presence of another human. There was a monster girl who tried to come unto him, but little else.

"I swear, I thought adventuring was supposed to be more... enriching. And in such dangerous territory as well." He brushed off a few leaves that had fallen on him. "Maybe that guard was just over-exaggerating, probably got his stories from weak nobodies. This place is like a dead zone."

As if someone were playing a game with him, at that moment a some twigs crackled off to his right, off the main path. Maxwell slowed his pace, slipped out a stylus into his right hand. Ready to strike out at what was to come.

It wasn't long in the coming. A figure burst out from the surrounding bush. One with a female upper body, wings protruding from her back. Four legs attached to an abdomen that stemmed from the waist of the monster. At the end of the abdomen was some kind of opening, with pink flesh. He knew what he was dealing with when he saw the antennas and her long tongue. And the repetitive high pitched buzzing

 _A mosquito girl._ A god-damned human-sized reincarnation of his least favorite organism.

"Holy shit, you guys come in monster form too?!" He yelled, both in shock and disgust.

"A human?!" she shouted, also in shock.

Maxwell took advantage of her shock, threw his stylus at her head, while he backed away at the same time.

She managed to shift her abdomen up, allowing it to take the otherwise lethal blow. The mosquito girl fell to the ground, the pain obviously too much to take.

Wide black eyes stared up at him. "J-Just what is a human doing here... inter..interfering wit.. with the war?"

Maxwell remained silent and lunged forward, took his stylus out from her abdomen. He spun, then stabbed it in a more vulnerable place.

The chest.

She withered for half a second, spooking Maxwell and causing him to leap back a few feet. He let out a small sigh as she saw her breathing slow to a resting state. The stab wouldn't do lethal damage to the insect, but it would keep the creature in one place, much to his relief.

He took a moment to curse whoever made the monster insect girls. They had almost no sexual appeal and were made from some of the worst creatures in existence. Whoever had done such things surely had to be insane or of need of much help. A disgusting existence such as a mosquito monster girl didn't deserve to exist in any way or form. Just like actual mosquitos.

"Well, I doubt I'd be getting any answers out of you." Maxwell looked down at her fallen figure and smirked at the sight of her uneven breathing. "But it seems I'll be getting a bit more excitement. Possibly more than I want. Although I don't know what side I'll be taking..."

"So... uh... y-you weren't s-sent to... defend the plant..." She broke off, taking in a couple deep breaths. "...monsters. So... w-what side... are you on?"

 _Sides?_ He chuckled quietly at the notion, the thought of him teaming up with either side of the conflict.

"Neither. I came across you as an outside, new human force. And to be honest," Maxwell paused, wiped his stylus against a pant leg, "I think I'll be staying this way. On my own."

"T-Then... what... is your... g-goal here?"

"Goal? I'm going to change things." Maxwell paused at the look of confusion on the mosquito girl's face. "No, no, not in the 'All go out hero' fashion. I am an outsider, an unknown. I do not belong in this war, this village, even this world. In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you at all. You know of how the flap of a butterfly's wings can change the fate of history?"

A nod. Quick, frantic.

"Well, if the flap of a butterfly's wings can alter the course of a hurricane, then what am I, a human who doesn't - who _shouldn't_ exist in this plane, doing when I take action in this world. Interacting with others, taking part in events, things that already have their own predetermined paths." _I'm starting to feel like some back-alley_ _philosopher. But at least I'm not pulling shit out of my ass._

Maxwell bent down, plucked the stylus up from the ground. "What am I doing to reality when I stab a monster, enter the happenings of a major battle? The answer to that is why I do what I do, free from the lines of fate, free to do whatever I want. Without some puppet-master pulling my strings. You got that?" He pointed the stylus down, at her face.

"I-I think..." The mosquito girl was still having difficulty with her speaking. "That yo-you're just a deranged soldier."

"Soldier..." _At least she didn't focus on where I was fro-_ _Wait. I could actually use this for my own dealings._ "Yes, that is exactly what I am: A soldier that comes from the grandest country of them all!"

"G-Grangold..?" She questioned.

"That's... that's right! Tell your leaders, your enemies, and everyone in between: The Countries and armies of this Grangold will be coming for way. In any case," he rose up to his full height. "It's time I went off to go scout, change the world, do the normal soldier things. I suggest that you tell your leader about this as soon, as you may be able to help your fellow insects in time, be better prepared for the invasion from Grandgold, er Grangold."

 _Although this 'help' I gave you, pales in comparison to the help you have given me. Now I gotta find out where this 'Grandgold' is._ He walked forward, into the depths of the green forest, leaving the mosquito girl behind.

* * *

Madiln scanned her surroundings once again. As the previous times she'd done it, she didn't come across anything, but the feeling of unease didn't leave her. She clenched the spear in her hands ever tighter.

She was part of one of the multiple groups sent out to scourge for vantage points to use against the plant monsters. Her role was of that of a mixture between a scout and a guard. She was one of six scouts, who's duties were to both guard the camp and also move ahead of the group to check for any plant monsters ahead.

As it was, the job was quite taxing. Even for an ant girl like her.

But it wasn't as if she had been given much of a choice in the matter. It was either this, menial labor or being sent to go off to find more men. Madiln decided her chances of survival were better if she stayed with the other insects.

One of the others, a caterpillar girl arrived to take over her post. Madiln thanked her and walked back to camp, shifting the spear into one of her other hands.

The camp was hastily set up, as with the constant attacks sent from the plant monsters, it could only serve as a temporary base. It consisted of the natural environment -a few trees and toxic plants- and some near invisible silk threaded across some of the trees.

Currently, the majority of her group were situated around the camp - some of them resting, others playing some kind of makeshift board game to pass the time and the rest eating.

She took a seat on a specific stump: One where she had a free view of the majority of the camp and over the top of some of the greens out of it. Even if she technically wasn't on duty at the moment, it never hurt to be to be too careful. Or watchful in this case.

"Why are you looking so anxious?" Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone walking up to her. Madiln looked up to see a slice of meat in one hand and a piece of bread in another. The owner of those hands was Whim: A bee girl and an archer. She shifted her bow to the side and took a seat next to Madiln. She also happened to be one of her closer friends in the camp. "Something other than the war?"

Madiln took the offered bread with a half-smile. "Well, I'm just wondering what happened to uh... Kirah. She left to go check on some kind of disturbance, but isn't back yet. Just thinking she might've ran into some trouble. It's been over twenty minutes by now."

"Kirah, um... you mean that mosquito girl? Well, you shouldn't be worrying about her!" Whim gave her a hearty pat on the back, causing Madiln to nearly drop her spear. "I'm sure she hasn't run into any hassles! Besides, this is _Kirah_ we're talking about. If she actually did run into any 'trouble' can't she just fly away? I'm pretty sure most plants can't do that. In fact, I'm sure she's grinding one of those bitches into fine green paste right about now!"

"I guess you're right. I'm probably just worried for nothing." Sometimes Madiln wondered how her and Whim became friends when it was usually a hassle for her to deal with more positive outlooks on life. Maybe she and Whim were the 'opposite attracts' kind of friends.

"Don't get so worked up over it. Being worried tends to keep you alive. As long as it is at safe levels at least." Whim flashed a smile before tearing into her slice of meat. "You just worry. A bit too much."

Having nothing else to say, Madiln just nodded and started to work on her bread. A small meal, sure, but they couldn't afford to eat all their supplies and run the risk of getting trapped by the plant monsters.

After eating, she then began to working maintenance on her weapon; making sure the edge and tips of her spear were sharp, checked to see if there were any pieces of wood out sticking out from the length and seeing if her hidden dagger was still in the same spot, sharp and ready to use. It was a duty she enjoyed doing, as it brought familiarity into her life, like having a cooking or knitting hobby.

Not that she held any interest in either of the options.

Once she was done with both maintenance and eating, Madiln got up and walked aimlessly around the camp. They numbered about fifty total in all. Queen Bee had made it the number for most of the groups similar to hers - something about more support in greater numbers. Madiln just suspected she liked the number fifty.

Most of her fellow insects were grouped in one spread out area, having no unique trait that set them apart from one another. The small reminder of insects not in the group were the mages: who were mostly contained in the middle of the camp to be shielded from any surprise attacks. They consisted of three spider girls and a single moth girl. The mages were valuable monsters, capable of taking out five or ten plant monsters in the time it took her to take out two. Obviously, with their battle capabilities, they were usually targeted first in battle.

Madiln didn't like talking to the mages very much. They gave off an aura of superiority that made them hard to approach and they were also of a higher rank than she was, with their limited number and great power. The combination of those two issues created a 'bubble' around the mages. And on the other end, most of them didn't go out of their way to talk to the lower ranks either.

Fine with her. The last time Madiln had actually talked with one of them was when they had asked for cover in preparation for a spell. The middle of battle was not an ideal place to forge lasting relationships.

Madiln decided to head back to her post, if just to settle her nerves. When she was partway there, she froze, antennae twitching as she picked up a disturbance in the air. Thinking that she was just imagining things, he chanced a glance back at the camp.

The caterpillar girl that had been taking guard, ran into camp, frantic. "We got plants coming up, about one or two minutes away from our position!"

The alert pushed her fellow insects into action. Some of them were leaping up into the trees, while the remained on the ground and advanced to meet the incoming threat. The spider mages moved forward, took up the middle portion of the ground force, while the moth girl flew up into the air. Archers stayed in the back, ready to fire at the first sign of movement. Madiln ran up to meet the ground troops. Less than two minutes later, the invading force came.

Madiln could keep herself from letting out a sigh of relief. Their group outnumbered the plant's. Although it wasn't a 'two to one' type situation, even the slightest advantage in numbers could turn the tide of a battle.

A purple flower slowly etched forward, the rest of the plant monsters moving out of its way. Madiln noticed that the flower was quite short for her species' height, yet none of the plants attempted going against her movement. Slowly, a female human body emerged from the petals, revealing it to be an alraune. The alraune gained a sneer before she said, "Why don't you _insects_ surrender and just give up your land? It'll be a waste of time dealing with you lot. We'll even allow you to live, let you go, just like dogs scrambling back to their masters." She giggled, with a condescending smile on her face.

Madiln saw glares appear on more than one face at the verbal attack, hers included. Going back to Queen Bee without anything to show for themselves, not even the slightest bit of effort would be akin to suicide. They'd be made into slaves at best and at worst, devoured for their failure. Not to mention the gigantic effect it would have on their pride.

"Forget it!" Madiln recognized the voice as the leader of their own group: Bilter, some kind of beetle girl. "Do you really think we'd actually bend to the will of some puny green trash? You ask for death, alraune. By the Queen, I will grant you your wish!"

The purple alraune only frowned. "Pity, and I hoped I wouldn't have to actually deal with annoying insects." She lifted a hand and pointed a single finger forward. " _Advance!_ "

With that, the battle had started.

Madiln rushed forward, ignored the arrows that flew above her, the spells that blew up the ground, the yells all around her. She only looked for someone to take on. However, the fight found her first: In the form of a slap across the abdomen.

However, she managed to bring up two of her chitin-covered arms to divert the blow, brought up her spear to retaliate. Her spear managed to slice the offending limb -a tentacle- eliciting a cry of pain from her attacker. Madiln used the moment to back up and get a read on her situation.

 _A roper girl? What are one of them doing this far out? I know the plants are aggressive, but usually they stay by their base._ Madiln didn't waste any time in pursuing the question and pushed on the attack. She shifted a finger so it would push on the mechanism. The spearhead flew forward.

It missed, being swatted aside. "Do you really thing that would stop me? I can always get healed another time, but smashing you insects into pulp always leads to a great time!"

Madiln switched tactics. A plan formed in her head. Still holding the main body of her spear, she moved forward, aimed a chitin-covered fist at the main bo-

It was blocked by a single tentacle.

She leaped out of the way as another swing came within a foot of flattening her.

Moving backwards, while circling the enemy. This time Madiln used her spear's body to knock aside the roper.

Again, it didn't work. The roper barely noticed the attack, and gave her a glare. She rose her tentacles, had a dagger in each one, and brought them towards Madiln at varying angles.

Her wooden spear pole was barely doing anything. Madiln had to back up, duck, deflect, rely on her chitin covered body and her enhanced reflexes in order to avoid critical damage from the roper girl's attack. She was facing more trouble than before, facing a foe that could use eight blades at once. Not an ideal situation.

However, it was one she had brought herself into. Because she was more of a strategist, not an expert spearswoman. But knowledge was a weapon of great power, when used in the right hands.

Keeping her grip on the spear pole, she launched her plan into action.

She pressed a finger against the mechanism on her spear and suddenly the roper's body wen rigid. Her tentacles froze in mid-air at various positions, daggers fell to the ground. Madiln heard the roper grunt as she futilely tried to moved her limbs.

"J-Just wait till I get out of this!"

Madiln didn't grace her with a reply. She only pressed on the mechanism again. A whirring sound could be heard and the outline of a thin lines could be seen along both the roper's body and tentacles. _I'm reeling in the big catch_. She allowed herself a rare joke.

Blood splurted outwards as the tentacles were lobbed off.

Madlin pressed on the mechanism again, this time going for the main body. The roper screamed as she fell forward.

 _Obstacle removed. All those tentacles left for places for me to leave my wires._ The rest of the wiring reeled in, ending with the spearhead reattaching itself to her spear. _Then again, I shouldn't look a 'gift horse' in the mouth._

Madiln got her spear into position and actually took a clear look around, knowing that she wasn't in any immediate danger. Somehow, despite their advantage in numbers, the battle was at a stalemate, with both sides neither gaining nor losing distance. She soon found the reason why.

It was the purple alraune: The plant group's leader. She was managing to take on two of the mages, an archer, a close range brawler and a swordswoman all at once. And she didn't even appear to have any fatigue. Obviously, all her talk from earlier, hadn't been just for show.

Whenever the swordswoman or the brawler would approach, the alraune would just form huge green vines from flower and swat them aside. With the mages, she either used one of her petals as a shield or retaliate with a slight redirection spell. For the archer, she just tunneled her roots beneath the ground and attacked from there. But the constant attacks were surely but _slowly,_ wearing down her petals.

Madiln decided not to get herself involved in that particular battle, as she'd only end up getting in the way.

She spotted another enemy -a pitcher plant- and moved to take it out, but wasn't quick enough. There was a rumble, then something burst out from the ground.

 _A mandragora !_ Her brown hair suddenly flew up and she let out a blood-curling screaming. Madiln alone collapsed to the ground with increased drowsiness and shock, being the only one within its hearing range. The mandragora tunneled back underground. Madiln looked up and saw the pitcher plant slowly getting closer to her. She silently cursed her sensitive antennae, both a helpful and a dangerous tool.

 _By the first...! I can't allow myself... to fall here! Must not... grow tired... Must fight!_

"I must congratulate you for not being so easily taken down," the pitcher plant said, as she slid some of her body out from the green tube part of the plant. A drop of liquid fell from the leaf above unto one of Madiln's arms- and it quickly burned through the chitin and scarred the skin beneath. "But now, you are nothing more than a meal. _Fertilizer._ "

There was a black blur.

The pitcher plant's tube suddenly caved in as if she'd been hit with a heavy blunt object. She screamed, brought her hands up to the contact area. The black blur appeared again and this time her neck had caved in, no doubt broken and no longer usable. It was flattened and bent at an unnatural angle. The pitcher plant girl collapsed.

"Madiln, was it?" The black blur briefly slowed down, revealing itself to be Bliter. Her long black hair rose from the sudden decrease in speed, her legs and hands -which ended with beetle-like for limbs- itched for more movement. The grin on Bliter's face portrayed amusement, as if she weren't fighting with lives on the line.

Madiln nodded as she tried to get back up on her feet. "Yes, leader..."

"You really should stay careful of traps like those," Bliter said, helping Madiln back up to her feet. "You don't have the speed to get out of trouble so quickly. Plus, if you just sit around, how else are you going to pummel these we- wait?! What the hell is that?!"

Madiln snatched up her spear and quickly turned in the same direction as her leader, to see what had caused such shock.

It was a human. Not a plant, an insect or even another type of monster, but a _human._ And a Safinian looking type no less. He had crashed into the melee alone, without back-up and as now engaged in combat with multiple monsters. That would've been fine, had he been taking out only plants for them. But he was attacking monsters indiscriminately, sending the lighter ones flying back with more force than what he seemed to be capable of, or leaving light slash marks on their bodies, while he backed away.

 _A stylus? What kind of human would fight with a writing utensil? And how is he generating that force!? Magic?_ No. Madiln couldn't sense the slightest bit of mana being used in any matter. Yet, the way the air seemed to circle around him was unnatural. She almost passed it as a trick of the eyes; It was unheard of, manipulating the air without the use of mana or one of the spirits.

A cry in pain. One of the plant mages -the mandragora from before- opened fire with a dozen earth spells, but the human managed to dodge most of the small stones, getting a hit he ignored on his thigh. The plant mage tried again, this time using a homing spell. The enemy knocked a few aside with his styluses, then used the altering trajectories to lure the rest into hitting some of the insects. The mage giggled at the results.

 _He doesn't hold much raw power or strength, while his agility seems to be his strong point. Maybe he's some kind of soldier, but I can't hear or sense any gathered humans around us. But that must be the case, he holds skill above the average human. Maybe he's one of those accursed blessed monster-slaying human 'heroes'?_

Madiln clenched the spear in her hands, wondering what she should do. The human before them was definitely a foe, but he was still also taking on the plant monsters they were fighting against. Should she try to attack the human? Should she ignore him, and take on the purple alraune, who Bliter was currently fighting. It was a battle of lighting speed, spells, fists and vines; something she wouldn't want to be intervening in. Or should she use a strategic retreat?

Before she could make a proper decision, the human suddenly fell to the ground, and a cloud of dust came up, obscuring him from view. An arrow fired by Whim just hit the area where the human's head and was followed by a "By the Founder, damn it!"

 _I might as well take advantage of this, deal with those bothersome pla-!_ She ceased her thoughts, as she saw the human coming straight for her. _Never mind. I better take out this human and find out why he's here first._

Perhaps it was just the aftereffects of the mandragora's scream, but his stance seemed off. Back leaned forward. Heavy, deep breaths. She came to the conclusion. _Exhaustion._ Even if the human was capable of taking on multiple trained monsters, he was still a human, and thus susceptible to fatigue.

He stepped in close, holding a stylus in one hand, the other one open.

 _Using the mechanism's useless at close range._ Madiln tried to impale the human on her spear, and felt only the faint resistance of skin against her spearhead. He gave out a grunt. A light scratch a few inches on his back. Her target had ducked low.

She drove her other hands and spear downward. Tight, contained movements, giving him as little room as possible to work with.

Madiln made contact with his head, on the pole part of her spear and the human stumbled and fell on the ground in a misshaped heap. The stylus flew out of his grip. He laid face down, still.

"Nice going, Madiln! You got the little rat!" Whim shouted.

The battle had ceased, no doubt thanks to the human, but Madiln wasn't focused on that.

A smile planted on her lips and a slight rush of exhilaration went through her for a moment, being the one to take down the human that had eluded the others. Maybe, it would lead to a promotion of some kind back at the colony. However, she had things more important than daydreaming to be doing, such as finding out what the human was doing here.

She moved one of her arms down and lifted the human up by the hems of his clothing, which was made with a material unfamiliar to her. Unfamiliar, but a nice texture. Noticing his confusion, Madiln shook the human alert. He grimaced as his clothing ran over the open cuts on his back. Now fully awake, he stared at her disapproving.

"What is your purpose here, human? Why did you interfere with our battle?" Madiln briefly took notice of the fact that both the plants and insect had stop fighting, no doubt interested on the interrogation. "You happen to be a blessed hero?"

It may have just been a trick of the eyes, but she swore saw the edges of the man's lips curl the tiniest bit downward when she said that.

He chuckled, a strange reaction considering his positional disadvantage. "I needed both the plant's and the insect's attention at the same time, so what better way to do that than to interrupt a battle where both sides are fighting?"

 _Needs our attention? What for?_ "So you weren't trying to kill anyone here?"

"Hmm... not really. If you guys were dead, it wouldn't actually help me in any way. Unless if I could raise you guys as the undead, but necromancer isn't one of my jobs titles." He smiled, almost mockingly at the looks of anger given to him. The human raised a single finger up. "But what I am is a great hero, warrior, fighter -you get the gist- from the Grandgold country!"

Madiln nearly dropped the human at the revealed information. _Grandgold... no! Grangold! It's that place where, where... Queen Ant was said to last been seen! And I remember seeing the soldiers capture her with some strange device!_ There were rumors that the ants and humans were living in coexistence with each other, but Madiln doub- no she _knew_ her Queen wouldn't do such things so quickly.

Her grip tightened.

"So he's another human soldier?" Bliter said.

"That man looks Safinian but why is he working for Grangold...?

"I say we kill him and dissolve his corpse into nutrients!" The mandragora.

"How about _I_ use him as my personal semen dispenser? A lively human like him would last longer than the men I usually get!" The purple alraune said, a sadistic smile on her face.

"He's ours!" An insect. "One of our own got to him first!"

"You pests can't even handle me, I should be the one to take him!"

The shouts came from all around, with the plants and insects former fighting, now reduced to bickering and name-calling. Madiln covered her antennae in vain. The shouting around her coupled with the growing desire to tear apart the man she was holding, made it nearly impossible for her to concentrate.

"Uh, excuse me?"

A sturdy voice shot through all the sounds of bickering and shouting and silenced them. Madiln didn't have to look far to find the source. She was holding it after all: The human.

"While it is nice and all, having you monster girls fight over me, I'm not staying." He stared at her straight on, an almost playful look in his eyes.

She wanted to smash them in, but held herself back.

"Oh really?" Blitter said, moving closer while keeping the plants in her range of sight. "Why would you do that, after you had attacked us insects? Better yet, _who_ would allow a man like you to leave?"

"Wouldn't hurt you to be a little thankful... I'm only here to tell you to spread the upcoming invasion message, just making sure you would tell your leaders and what not. Although, I was mainly here for the plants... not quite sure if that damn mosquito from before had made. Reinsurance, take it as I will."

"What did you. Do. To. Kirah." Madiln said in a cold tone. She shifted the human into her other hands, held him up higher. She ignored the giggles given from the plants. She took up her spear. The feeling from earlier had not been wrong in the slightest. It was a warning. "Tell. Me."

"Just a few light scratches, told her the message." The human half-smiled, a look she had started to hate. "But I did it in a name that all conflict can be summed up as: Self defense. Nothing wrong with that, is there? You going to avenge the friend? One you aren't sure is dead? Yet."

With a rage-fueled yell, Madiln thrust her spear forward, moved to impale his heart.

No contact.

Instead of blood, she was rewarded with a fistful of dust in her eyes, effectively blinding her. "Augh!" Faced with rapidly watering eyes and the sudden lost of sight, she let go of the human and brought her hands to her eyes.

"Well I think you all got the message, so it's time for me to make like a deranged kid's with a birthday pinata and beat it!"

Light, repetitive footsteps.

"Can't let a human like you reveal our exact locations to your bastard king!" Out of a small part of her eye, she could see what looked like a black blur speeding towards the human. _Bliter._ A flash of sliver came into view and she tripped, the momentum carrying her into the human's moving foot.

She flew back, landed on the grass a few feet back. With a stylus lodged in her leftmost foot. She didn't appear to be too bothered by the foreign object, as she immediately pulled it, allowing crimson to flow freely. Bliter gritted her teeth, glaring at him.

The human hadn't been without his own damages, as he was currently rubbing his right leg furiously. "Man, if I had ever skipped leg day, I would've already been kissing goodbye to this one." Leaning down, he planted both of his hands on the ground. "Adieu to you lads."

A cloud of dust larger than any of the previous ones suddenly burst up from below.

Madiln shielded her eyes from any further damage, and she assumed the rest of the monsters did the same. When the dust cleared, the human had vanished from view, obviously long gone.

The plants and insects stood around awkwardly, before they began to move towards the selective camps. No longer did the hold the strong desire to destroy each other. The desire was still there, but more important things had taken precedence. They had to prepare for the incoming invasion of Grangold.

Madiln had been acting in autopilot during this whole time; when she talked to the others, answered questions and packed up the camp. The human who had injured her fellow insects, possibly killed one of her few friends, and was a soldier for the accursed Grangold.

 _If I see that man again, I swear to the Founder herself, I am going to personally show him **hell**._


	21. In Which He Walks

**Just gonna come out and say this: Reviews. Want 'em. Send 'em. Soon as mentally possible.**

 **That said, time to move along with the story.**

* * *

"I just know one of these days, I'll end up pulling off a stunt that winds up in me losing my leg," Maxwell commented as he walked with a limp in his step along the dirt road. He could still feel the shock in his leg, the way it refused to bend to its full length. _Damn, that speedy one sure knows how to use her speed. Newton's laws can be such a pain in the ass... or should I say leg?_

After leaving off 'his country's' little memento and creating the dust cloud to obscure the other monster's vision, Maxwell had ran out of the area with as much speed he could muster, looking to get a head start on the other monsters. After a few minutes of awkward jogging, he came across a dome-shaped canopy of branches in the shadow of a wide oak tree. He crawled into the low thicket, then promptly collapsed on the leaves, now that he had no reason to stand and with the exhaustion catching up to him.

But that had been yesterday, if the sun slowly rising in the sky indicated anything. Five, six hours ago at best.

Now he was behind schedule, and by now the insects and plant monsters alike had probably gotten to their leaders, and if not, they were close to them. Maxwell knew he had to get to Grandgol- Grangold, before the monsters fully mobilize their troops, or he wouldn't be the cause of a war.

He'd be the cause of a mass slaughter of humans.

Maxwell let out a groan, both from the complications and his leg. It wasn't the possibility of a mass human killing that bothered him, but rather the fact that it wasn't the possibility he had been looking for. He could work his way around such a scenario, but it would be difficult, if not outright impossible to navigate around the humans; the monsters knew what he looked like and soon enough his description would spread through gossip to the humans.

They'd search and comb for the cause of so many deaths and eventually they'd pick him out. And then he'd be on the literal run until he either, faked his death, legitmentaly died or used some kind of exclusionary magic. He liked the third option the most, even though it would probably be a pain in the ass to find someone who'd actually cast in on him- not to mention it might just outright fail on him.

Maxwell sighed. It'd take him at least a few more hours to be at a reasonable level for himself. _Man, if only I had some handy regeneration bullshit I could pull out of my ass like Oswell. Sure, it'd still be bullshit, but helpful bullshit._ Maybe he should've taken the hero route along with Luka. The path of a hero was always filled with world-breaking abilities accompanied with luck to the brokenmost level of reality. With the obligatory harem of very unique models- err... people.

That would've been the outcome of his arrival if he held any major heroic traits, but he didn't. On the other hand, he didn't hold any outstanding villainous traits. But those details were all up for debate. Subjective terms, easily changed based on whatever group you were talking to.

With those thoughts in mind, Maxwell wandered into a less dense section of the forest, where the bushes seemed to spread out with more space placed between each of the trees. He checked the map to get a feel for his current position, then moved with increased haste once he made sure he was moving in the current direction.

"Directions? Yep. Leg ache? Of course! Hotel? Trivago."

After a few more hours of walking, the woods thinned out some more, as thick tree trunks could be seen beyond the foliage before it. He knew from the map that it wouldn't be much longer until he found his way out of the forest and back out on the open plains to Grandgol- Grangold.

 _I gotta work on that pronunciation. Can't blow my cover over something so... so mundane._

A mild breeze slightly cooled Maxwell's skin as it blew past the sweat he had built up. The wind didn't get rid of the seemingly infinite mosquitoes that came out every so often to feed on his blood; that was a job better reserved for his hands. If it wasn't for that, the sweat and the war sure to be over the horizon, he'd probably mark this as just another one of his hikes in the woods.

He came across the edge of a dusty clearing, much like the one where he had seen the monsters fighting earlier the day before. He increased his pace, feeling exposed due to the lack of cover provided. There were patches of leaves and grass that laid randomly around the clearing.

As he neared a heavily shadowed tree, Maxwell stepped in a pile of leaves. An ordinary action, one that did not require too much brain power. In a flash, he found his view on the world flipped around.

Literally.

In hindsight, those 'random' piles of organic material wouldn't have fallen the way he saw them lay naturally. Unless if he were in some kid's family friendly cartoon show. I've been slacking way more than usual lately. Must be the leg.

Air escaped from his lungs as he found himself pulled upside down by a single foot. His head pounded as blood rushed towards it. The ground spun through his hazy vision. With blinks both furious and quick, Maxwell looked up and saw the snare that held him suspended off the ground, like a piece of dangling meat, less than seven feet above the ground.

 _Can't believe I literally walked into a trap like that._ Maxwell focused on which one of his feet were caught. _At least I didn't get my weak leg pulled like that, and there aren't any monsters around to grab me either. Thank myself for small victories. It knows, this would've never happened if it were up to its will._

First things first. He needed to get free before any 'unfriendlies' found him first; namely monster girls looking for fresh meat or a bandit looking for shining gold. Both would be a pain to deal with. Maxwell carefully dug into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around a stylus before it fell to the ground.

He placed it in his mouth, and reached up with sore muscles until he got a hand around the rope. With the other, he grabbed the knife and began slashing away at the rope.

The rope was weaker than expected. Maxwell quickly fell to the ground as his weight caused the frayed ends to snap. _Ruler of all Angular Rotation 'The Top'!_ A small cushion of air formed underneath his outstretched hands, which slowed his descent to the point that he fell on his back 'not so hard'. He could see how selling the ability off as some 'wind magic' just made others look the other way.

Shaking his head, Maxwell rose to his feet, feeling dizzy. He used the nearest tree to support himself.

"Time for me to get a move on." He sighed as moved to stand upright. He felt tired in the mental sense, just done dealing with crap. "Life is a never ending trip with no breaks... after all."

* * *

He walked for about half an hour through the wilderness. Maxwell had stopped for brunch earlier on, taking a spot up in the trees where he wouldn't be so easily spotted. After finishing with his food, he kept on walking, eventually coming to the end of the forest. He paused to find his current positioning, used the mountains as a reference, then continued along the forest's edge. He reasoned that the edge would be a good place to cut corners, at least momentarily.

Just as Maxwell was about to exit the forest's edge, he caught movement from behind a blanket of trees. Maxwell ducked down and could make out what looked like a wooden table on the other side.

 _Just what am I walking into?_

He stepped into the bushes to get a closer look, keeping the stylus out and in his hands. Then he heard a voice. Singing? As he got closer to the end, he made out what looked like a grown woman sitting at a wooden table with a teddy bear across from her.

 _This... this is mad. I know I've walked into another world but... Why does she look like she stole the clothes right of Alice, in that Wonderland tale? Whoever made this world... they are unnaturally and insanely attracted to coincidences._

The blonde-haired woman wearing a blue dress with some kind of white frilly apron held a pitcher in one hand and kept her other one on the table. She raised the pitcher and poured out a brown liquid that suspiciously looked like tea into two pink teacups. One was brought closer to her by an unseen force. It was obviously some kind of magical ability. Telekinesis? The same was for the teacup, except it was set in front of the teddy bear.

"Oh beary, how do you like your tea? Nice day to be having a tea party, don't you think?"

A moment of silence passed.

"Yes beary, I must agree with you; these parties we keep having have been getting a little dull lately. Perhaps it's time for a change."

 _I know I may not be in the right mind, maybe... but at least I don't talk to inanimate objects._ His mind suddenly flashed back to the roper incident. The kill, the head, the stick. _Well, most of the time anyway... at least it used to be alive. I have an excuse. Strong one too._

Maxwell turned to walk away, his curiosity satisfied. If he wanted to see a mad person in action, he could just be himself; apparently that was what the doctor had said to him before shoving prescription pills in his face. That gesture was paid with a 'Never', along with the constant recommendations for mental help. He felt fine, knew what he was doing, 'help' was the last thing he needed.

"Oh, that is a fantastic idea beary! Freshening up the party with our little uninvited guest, is sure to be just..." The woman's head rose and her gaze settled on something over the teddy bear's shoulder. Maxwell knew what it was when both of their eyes met. Him. "...just bound to make for some fabulous entertainment."

Maxwell held back a groan. He did not want to deal with the strange woman and plus; he didn't even like tea anyway. One of the most hated drinks in fact. So he opted to do what he usually did when situations like this came into play: Ignore the person trying to get your attention. Most of the time this left them talking to the side of his head before moving on to a new target.

 _I got things to be doi... err?!_ Suddenly, he felt the ground below him part apar- no... it more as if it had just disappeared before his feet. Whatever the cause, Maxwell found himself falling through the ground before he could let out as much as a gasp.

"Whoa!"

 _Scratch that. If this gay Earth decided to personally 'fuck my shit up' I deserve to get my lickings in sometime. Small victories!_

Instead of finding himself on the other side of the world, some arcane location or as a burnt crisp as he expected, he found himself lying on the ground. Maxwell rose to his feet, and immediately felt bile rising up to his throat. He bent over, placed his hands on his knees, and promptly threw up black and grey. He gagged from the initial putrid smell, and backed away.

Maxwell, feeling a small trickle down his nose, brought a finger up to the source. He licked it.

 _Blood_. He sighed. _Between this and the black grey vomit, I'm going to say this body of mine must not enjoy the magik arts that much_. He recalled how he didn't even feel nauseous, or even dizzy before puking out long lost leftovers. _Ok, it abhors magik._

"Ha ha ha!" Maxwell heard a series of chuckles coming from right in front of him. He quickly turned to find the source, then promptly planted a neutral expression on his face. "You were right, parties are much more fun with more guests!"

"Y'know, must people would say it's rude to just randomly teleport others without their permission or foreknowledge." Maxwell let out an over exaggerated sigh. "Or to laugh at others misfortune. Most people."

The woman let out a few more chuckles before responding. "Just like how humans would consider it rude for another to spy on their activities?" She smiled with a playful look in her eyes, took a sip from her teacup.

"That's different. You should know that people having tea sessions with their teddy buddies is not the sort of thing most people run into everyday. Especially since we're in... the middle of oogabolooga-land, nowhereland. To be quite frank... this is just stupid and you should have just stayed home if you didn't wish to be seen," he paused to give the teddy bear a quick look, "at all."

"Don't you know that words can hurt a frail, and pretty little girl such as I?"

"Frail and little, my ass." Maxwell held back on commenting on her appearance. While in her own right, she _was_ pretty in her own right, it was beside the point. "You literally portaled me right out from under my feet. What really hurts here is my chest. I did not enjoy landing on it, thank you very much."

"Than would you enjoy sitting on this chair of mine?" A third chair slid out from the table. "Made from the finest wood one can find."

Maxwell eyed the chair with disapproval and a firm smile. "That's gonna be a nooope from me, Chief."

"Are you sure? I'll make it worth your time. Just stay a while," she said in a suggestive tone. "It's not often when I come across a huma- a person who's actually interesting".

Instead of wasting my precious time arguing with you, "I'll just have my 'No-Yes' detector work out things with you instead," Maxwell answered as he dug into his pockets. He lifted a hand, revealed a stylus in its palm.

The blonde woman smiled wider, leaning further over the table. "Is that so? But how is a writing tool going make decisions for me, let alone make any decisions at all?"

He chose to ignore the mocking tone in her voice. "You see, I'm going to drop this little thing. If it happens to hit the ground, then it's a 'No', but if it doesn't hit the ground, it's a 'Yes'." His smile went warm at the frown on the woman's face.

"W-Well... that's not fai-"

"It is completely fair," he interjected, making his voice sound much more sincere than he actually was. "Like a coin toss, fifty/fifty chance, both sides could _hypothetically_ happen if you wanted to get deep into how it worked. But that's enough rambling on my end. Time to see who the stylus thinks is right."

 _And also, hypothetically, I'm talking bullshit, but hypothetically_. Maxwell outstretched his arm, then opened his hand. The stylus fell to the ground, overtaken by gravity. Before it touched the dirt, it immediately jerked to a stop, as if held in place by an unseen force.

Indeed, unseen force would be the correct way to describe the interference.

"Well... why don't you look at that? It seems that the stylus has decided to stay up in the air." The woman moved her head, so her eyes met his. Her smile held a nearly immeasurable smugness. "You said something about a 'fifty/fifty chance'. However, the fifty appears to be on my side. So it looks like you'll be sitting here with beary and I!"

Maxwell grimaced from the pure smugness given off by her aura. We are hitting levels of smug that should not be humanly possible! But we can take it, I can take it! He repeated the mantra until he was back to tip-top mental condition.

Then he moved to step the stylus into the ground. The force holding it up 'struggled' in a sense, then it dispersed all together. "Now it looks like the tables -or chances in this case- have turned and for the better this time around!" He bent down to pick up the now dull stylus. Driving it into the ground had done damage to its previously sharp edge. He twirled it around once before pocketing it.

"How unfair..." The woman pouted, her demeanor more like a child's than a full grown adult. "And I was sure to win have won that challenge."

"Not as unfair as using literal accursed magik to stop things from falling to the ground."

"And forcing things down is?"

"Bu- Tch." The retort died in Maxwell's throat. "Fine, you got me there, Blonde. I'll give you that small victory, while I take home the victory cake. Which is always fresh and delicious."

"Blonde? I do have an actual name you know."

"Sure," Maxwell said. "But 'blonde' is just as much as name as any other. And there are worst names to have, such as... Farcus von Stuncwen."

A frown creased the woman's face. "And that's supposed to be a real name?"

"Yes." He snapped his fingers. "Rich folks are notoriously bad at picking out good sounding names, but well... money speaks volumes more than a simple name. Either that, or they change it."

"You have said a lot, but you also said nothing."

 _Well, ouch._ Maxwell decided those words were better when said. "Well, ouch. I answered your question -I think- and this is how i get repaid? Maybe I should just become a schoolteacher with this treatment I'm given, Blonde."

"My name is... well, I'm called Black Alice nowadays. Not that it's a well known name in the world nowadays. Unlike the splash you made on that foresak- I mean, great island," The now named 'Black Alice' picked up a piece of paper, glanced at its contents then turned it over.

It was a bounty information sheet, that looked similar to the one he had seen in Iliasburg. It had a description of him, a rough, majorly inaccurate sketch and an amount totaling five hundred gold coins, plus gear for his capture; Dead, or Alive.

"Well, sorry to say but... my name isn't on that thing." In truth, Maxwell had nearly forgotten about the bounties, seeing as the guard who had placed him on one was stuck in the landlocked Ilias continent. Assblasted fellow, he called that guard. Seeing as how the paper was both tattered and didn't talk about Sentora in anyway, he reasoned that the guard didn't make it that far in his quest for revenge.

Black Alice only drank more of her tea.

"What I'm not sorry to say is, we're done here. I got things to do, and burning daylight hours isn't one of them. Not that I can burn daylight on that note." Maxwell looked at the sun out of the corner of his vision. It was now a little past noon, when shadows lied in a singular direction. Left.

"Aren't you afraid that I will take you out at this moment for your bounty?" A smile showing off more than a few teeth formed on her face.

"No. If you wanted me dead... well, I doubt we'd be talking with each other at this moment. I'd be back to talking to the one that started- changed all this... but I that's not important right now." He turned away and moved towards the row of bushes, planning to walk right through them. But then he stopped to face Black Alice again. "I am wondering, where did you get that outfit from?"

"Oh this little thing?" Black Alice brought up a part of her dress. The apron part to be specific. "I made it myself, just decided one day, I needed a change in attire. Looks nice don't you think?"

 _Made myself, change in attire; my ass. More like 'I crossed dimensions and stole generic outfits from other worlds_ '. Maxwell didn't voice out his true thoughts this time around. "That was... actually lacking. In detail I mean."

"Is that so?" Her voice took on a sultry tone and there was a seductive look in her eyes. A single button unclipped from its holding. "Well... why don't you inspect my clothes in a more...physical manner, then?"

"No need," Maxwell said as he stared at the space between her eyes. _If I wanted to have endless sex, I wouldn't be wasting my time trying to get human woman. All I'd need to do is walk up to practically any monster girl. Bottomless_. "One last thing; I don't like tea very much. Or at all actually. Remember that the next time you try hosting a party in the middle of nowhere."

Black Alice sighed. Her face loss the seductive look, took on a passive one instead. "Maybe if things had gone differently in the past, I would've joined you on this little adventure you have on your hands. Humans are _quite_ fun things sometimes, especially that one human way back when. Remember him, beary?"

Both 'beary' and Maxwell remained silent.

"But I have real goals to look forward to, ones that don't include many humans tagging along.

This 'Black Alice' is no human. People don't tend to refer to each other as 'humans'. Most of the time anyway. With that in mind, he turned away and finally excited the clearing. The bushes and greens swallowed him up, before he finally disappeared from view.

If he had looked back one last time to check for monster-like features, he wouldn't find anything.

Except for eyes boring hungrily through his skull.

* * *

 _The teddy bear's beady black eyes glowed with a light red. 'That was in the human's words... rather lacking. Unsatisfactory, Alipheese the VIII,'_ a voice crackled said from the teddy bear. Bored, dull, cold in her opinion.

Promestein.

A metallic appendage burst out from its stubby arm and whacked Black Alice on the head with enough force to shatter human skull.

She barely noticed the 'attack', only smiling in response. "How so, beary? I met the human you wanted me to see, had to use some magic to get him to me. He was interesting, there were smells on him that I couldn't recognize. They weren't smells of a good fucktoy, though." But what she had been focusing on were his eyes. Being as long lived and as power as she was, Black Alice had seen many a human, both in disguise and as Alipheese the VIII. Most of them were weak, putting all their faith in their goddess Ilias; as if she of all people would change things for them.

Rather than feeling pity for the humans, Black Alice could only feel contempt. That was one of the reasons she decided she would make the world bow down to her. Without the bitch Ilias, things would change in the world. Things would be more fun.

The thought brought her back to the human she had talked to earlier. Despite his scent, the human held something that could not be found in many of his species these days. Something that had caused one of his own to create a bounty over his head.

Black Alice could catch it in the brief moments whenever he was caught off guard. A brief flicker, then it was gone. It was _defiance_ , just pure defiance at everything around him; the sky, the earth, herself, everything but himself. They weren't the eyes of a passive observer, they were the eyes of someone who saw the world as nothing more than an obstacle, a stepping stone to get what he truly desired.

That trait alone, could make him into the perfect toy, or the perfect enemy. Either was an option she would be happy to deal with. Although she liked making him into a toy to play with, much better

 _'I could care less about knowing whether monsters want to procreate with him or not.'_ The metallic appendage retreated back into the teddy bear. The stuffed toy rose to its feet, hopped off the chair it was on, and hobbled over to the ground where the man was dropped.

Black Alice could hear a series of clanks and whirrs, as gears shifted and two hands -one holding a container and the other holding some kind of suction pump- burst out from its back. Sometimes she had to admit Promestien's genius, although that was something she'd never tell the angelic scientist herself. Her attention and efforts could be better spent on other things. It's not like those drabby angels need any more praise. They have a whole world filled with dumb lifestock to deal with that.

 _'I trust that you have taken organic matter hailing from the human's body? Fingernails, hair, etcetera.'_

"I can't believe that you would think I would be that incopetent, beary." Black Alice opened her palm to reveal small slices skin. The portals she formed were more than capable of scraping off near-shedded skin and clips of nails. They were quickly sucked into the container, along with hair, pieces of broken nails and small sticks with dried blood.

Promestein didn't take rise to her words as she would've liked, kept her usual dull monotone. _'You are a rather incopetent fool at times, a fact that would be the case at this moment had you not obtained some of your objectives. While you have managed to find that he is weak to direct magical interference, you still managed to fail in gathering that human's motives. Such as, what were his reasons for in the middle of Plantsect forest.'_

"Nitpicking like that is sure to wear out your lifespan quicker than it should~ Don't you remember who it was that got you out of that drabby ol' prison Ilias so kindly built for you? And who was the incopetant little fool that got themselves stuck in there in the first place?" Black Alice brought the cup of tea to her lips, the words bringing back old thoughts from the past.

 _'You may call me foolish if you'd like, but to just see human potential and development being held back and limited to such a degree would only cause me great discomfort in the future.'_ Black Alice if imagined bears were capable of showing emotion, this one would have a small but noticeable smirk on its face. ' _But to have one of the most feared Monster Lords in history call me a fool for not blindly following Ilias' commandments. I believe this would be called irony.'_

"I'd rather you not broadcast my true identity to the whole world." _I'll do that myself when I take the world for myself._

' _I severely doubt anyone is within earshot of this stuffed toy. As I can detect, you're presence along is keeping any monster smart enough away in a hundred foot radius. It'd be a death wish if any one of them decided to face you in combat.'_ An emotionless sigh from the other end _. 'Regardless, I have everything that I could gather from this area with such limited contact on the human's part. I can reason that he's heading towards Grangold; whether he's passing by or there for personal manners, those are beyond my current capabilities.'_

Black Alice took the chance to mock her. "How come the genius can't find a solution to such a simple problem?"

' _Alipheese the VIII, must I remind you- I'm not a mind-reader, I'm a Seeker for the Truth beyond all things. Most of the time.'_ This time Promestein elicited an emotion in her tone. Annoyance _. 'I no longer need you for the current moment. Maybe you can report back to Ilias if you'd like however.'_

"With pleasure!" Black Alice's voice oozed with fake glee and an oversweet voice.

 _'With that enthusiasm, perhaps Ilias would be kind enough to mark you as an honorary angel in the future.'_ The space around the teddy bear began to distort and the stuffed toy stretched in multiple directions and sizes, before collapsing in on itself, disappearing without so much as a trace. Magical, but with a trace so slight, only Queen-class monsters like her would be able to detect.

"Maybe I should get myself one of those machine thingys. Promestein shouldn't mind." Black Alice moved to pour herself more tea, but found the pitcher empty. "Oh drat, looks like I have to get myself some more tea. Back to that damned Ilias island for me. Their only saving grace is the tea, just the tea. I'll keep those humans alive for sure."

* * *

Luka let out a yawn as he walked alongside Alice -who was in her lamia form- on the various roads that would lead him from Safina to Noah. While he didn't like to boast about his power, him saving the Princess, meeting the King, defeating Lily, gaining Gnome's power, and finishing off the Pyramid's quest were feats that he was proud of.

They were one of the few things that Alice had complimented him on.

With all these accomplishments under his metaphorical belt, Luka felt confident enough to head on the Noah, help the people around there for a bit and get another one of the four spirits by his side. But despite all he had done, there was something lingering in the back of his mind; to be more specific, the thought of the man who had broken away from their group.

Maxwell.

When Luka had first seen the message Maxwell left for him and Alice, his first action had been to search for him and make sure he was safe. Or course, Alice rewarded his actions with a swift and brutal rebuttal, saying that Maxwell 'would be fine and is more than capable of defending himself', he had left on his own terms, so LUka should just focus on trying to become a 'more than decent fighter'.

Despite his feelings on the matter, Luka had to agree that Maxwell was more than capable of defending himself. He held some kind of power over the wind that he could use to defend himself- 'Something akin to Sylph's own wind', Alice had told him.

 _Your friend sounds like he'd be super fun to play with! He does use the wind after all! Maybe we can have a wind competition, wouldn't that be fun? Well, maybe it wouldn't be too fun for Gnomey since he can't use the Earth, bu-_

The somewhat internal rant had been disrupted by a swift slap across the face that sent its recipient flying across the mindscape.

"Oi oi, stop slapping each other across the face." By now Luka had managed to get used to the sound of hearing Sylph, -the wind spirit that resided in his head- just speak about things that came to her mind, in his own mind. Luka shook his head; the concept was too much for him to think about, so he thought about the simpler things in thought.

Such as how the feeling of Gnome slapping Sylph across the face was a feeling he had never felt before. It was like a light thud in his head. Hard enough to feel, but not to actually hurt him. That didn't stop the repetitiveness from bothering Luka, but at least he couldn't get damaged from it, with the spirits being in his 'mind'.

 _Augh, too confusing. Maybe I should try being less of an 'idiot' like Alice says all the time_ , Luka thought, as he rubbed his head with his free hand. _Even though I'm sure I'm not being an idiot for at least half of the time she says I am._

At that moment, Alice let out a little sneeze.

 _I never knew Alice could let out such a cute sound_. Luka unknowingly let a smile show on his face. _It doesn't sound like a sound a Monster Lord would be making._

"What is it, fake hero?" Of course, Alice was there to deliver a quick and brutal assault, with her tone accusing as usual. And with the additional probing of her tail. "Is there something going on in that head yours?"

"N-No, Alice! W-Why w-would you think that I... that I w-would be thinking about yo-! Ahh, not that it's bad in any way, b-but..." Luka lost coherent thought as he kept digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole. He eventually gave up on defending himself, a skill he desperately needed help in. "...Well, there are spirits in my head."

Alice sighed beside him, and turned her face away from him. "Idiot..." She delivered her usual one word insult to most of his actions.

Luka winced, bashfully rubbing a hand against his head. "Well, I'm sorry for being an Idiot."

"Just forget it... Anyway, why are you heading towards Noah? If you want to get the spirits as quick as possible, you should just head towards Undine's spring. I can't see what you would want to do in there. Other than trying to get roped into fixing other people's problems again."

"Well, I've heard that monsters and humans are living together with no problem in Grand Noah. It's always nice to hear about a place where my dream of coexistence has already been accomplished." It was rare to hear about monsters and humans living in peace, the only other places he had heard of coexistence, were the ports and Grangold. They were places he was looking forward to seeing for his own eyes.

"Grand Noah is definitely smart for choosing such a decision. Without the need to waste their troops on fighting monsters in the forest where both sides would suffer great casualties, they would able to integrate monsters into their kingdom, and use their resources to increase the power of the kingdom. And add recreational activities, such as their Colosseum, food and food..."

Luka could make out a thin trail of saliva slipping from Alice's mouth before it was wiped away with a swipe of her tail.

"Never mind, we are definitely going to Grand Noah, with their size, they should definitely have all kinds of delicacies for me to try!"

 _Alice, is your mind always on food?_ "I guess we're surely heading for Grand Noah now. I do have to restock on our food and materials... Not that we are about to run out of food! I-It's always good to be prepared for anything out here!" _Ah, now I'm the food-crazed one_.

Alice's frown morphed into a smug smile. "Good, it wouldn't do me well if I was unable to have my well prepared meals everyday. Actually, if this fake-hero business of yours fail, you should set up some kind of restauran- No, I'll take you in as one of my Head Chefs in the Monster Lord's castle."

"From a Hero for Ilias to a Head Chef for the Monster Lord..." Luka lamentated. He knew Alice really liked her food and the act of eating- it, but the gap from hero to chef was just too big for him to understand. He wasn't sure if there would be anyone who could understand it. But there was a part of what she said that he wanted to question. "Is my cooking really that good?"

"Much better than your fighting skills."

"Oi Alice, but I think I've improved since I started on this journey..." Luka trailed off when he realized Alice wasn't near him.

Which meant...

"Mmm hmm, what's a little kid playing hero doing around here~? And an unbaptized one as well~?"

Luka sighed. So much for a quiet walk to Noah; back to fighting off the usual monster girl in the middle of nowhere.

He drew his sword, and called out, "FIll me with the power of the wind, Sylph!" With the wind coursing through his body, Luka leaped forward, thrusting his sword forward in earnest.

"Here it is... Thunder thrust!"


	22. Bearer of Mixed Blessings

**Ayman El Kadouri: Of course, some, if not _most_ things will be diverging from Canon. You don't just introduce someone new in a world and expect things to go exactly the same way they did originally. The world is too delicate for things like that to be possible.**

 **Goqqi: And I'll thank you for your reviews! Glad to see you're interested in the outcomes.**

 **That's all the comments for now, so remember to keep them coming!**

* * *

"There she is," Maxwell muttered to himself, looking through his hands as if they were binoculars. They did help him focus on a single spot, so there was that similarity. "And there she... not blows."

He was currently standing on a hill that gave him a view of everything in the area ahead of him, that of which included Grangold. The grand city stood only about a mile or two away from his current position, something that wouldn't remain a fact for much longer.

Maxwell would have moved, if it wasn't for his current problem. He rearranged his hands to form a telescope shape and aimed them at an area a few meters away from the slope he was on. He scanned for a few more seconds before reopening his hands. _Strange, I could've sworn there was some kind of grey monster girl out there. Maybe she left? Probably hiding in those rocks. Well, if she's not coming that must mean she's too weak actually do anything to me. And what would a grey monster look like anyway?_

With his obstacle no longer an existing obstacle, Maxwell carefully shimmied his way down the hill, making sure to not get his pack or his pants caught on any jagged rocks. As he neared the bottom, he threw all caution to the wind, performed a backflip, landed on his feet, and bowed to an imaginary audience.

"I thank you all, really. And by 'you all', I mean me. I couldn't have done this without myself." Maxwell dusted himself off and made his way towards the clear dirt path leading to Grangold. _Now I can check off part-time circus performer on my resume._

"Yes human, I thank you for the entertaining trick."

In a near instant, Maxwell froze, his hand darted for a pocket. He dug his heels into the ground.

Probably because she blended in with the rocks so well, he had not noticed the monster werewolf girl that was now standing about five meters in the direction he was walking in. She had paws with five digits, each one armed with sharp looking nails. Or rather, claws. _This creator of monster girls sure has some major butthurt over the superior human body design. At least the legs look like her 'natural' counterpart_. Grey fur grew up along her body, leaving only the majority of her torso and her face untouched.

She did have clothes, which was a major step up from most of the monsters who didn't seem bother with them. A simple green cloth that ran around her body, covering only her breasts. Fur covered up her nether regions. The werewolf girl also had a black strap with a small square pouch and a single dagger attached to it.

Maxwell wasn't sure why she needed the dagger. He'd understand were she a human or a select few other monster types, but her razor sharp claws should've been doing more than enough to cover her damage output.

"So..." He began.

"So...?" She mimicked him.

 _We sure are making some groundbreaking conversation._ "So… you haven't attacked me, raped me or robbed me, yet. What do you want?" Maxwell asked, putting a stop to the conversation loop.

"Just introducin' meself to an fellow adventurer," she answered with a toothy grin.

 _Adventurer… I guess I can go with that._ He waved a hand in the air. "Salutations, fellow adventurer. Now that we've got that out of the way, we can continue along with our separate paths." Maxwell stepped to his right, and the werewolf stepped to her left.

"Where ya headin'?" This time the werewolf's face had a playful grin. "Mind if I tag along?"

"The End, Hell. It's a solo trip if you didn't know. My trip... is more of a solo thing, really." Maxwell planted a hand on her arm to push her aside; only to find that she didn't budge. Not even an inch. She was even shorter than him! Well, that was to be expected, since he honed his body more on the agility side of things, rather than pure brute strength. His ability picked up the slack on that end. "We are not making progress."

"I guess we're stuck together now, eh partner?" She swatted off his hand without much effort. Her giant paws helped with that action; he didn't want bleeding gashes along his hand.

Maxwell rose another hand. He smiled. "I don't think so, werewolfen girl." He lightly tapped the werewolf and flared his power as he did so.

Unlike before, she moved... although it was more like she flew.

With a surprised yelp, she spun up a couple meters into the air like a windmill before landing in a couple of bushes to the right in a not so subtle thud.

 _Well, that's sure to keep her there for a bit. Killing is really just a last resort; sometimes things just have to go North._ Maxwell turned to face the city of Grangold, which wasn't more than a long, tall wall from his position. "Great Wall of China? More like Grand Wall of Grandgold. Maybe I could join a traveling circus someday, gotta add that to the bucket list."

"For your information, I'm not a werewolf." A frown came upon Maxwell's face upon hearing the familiar upbeat voice. The werewolf's body rose from the depths of the bush. Gray fur, long silver hair and all. "I am a wolf girl."

"What's the difference?"

"We don't change between human and monster form, unlike what the myths say."

It was a strange statement. As for why would there still be werewolf myths when actual _wolf girls_ literally lived in the world beside humans was beyond him. Humans here were severely lacking in the intelligence department. _Just what the hell had happened to basic evolution on the planet? When did it all go wrong? Actually, I think I know the answer to that last one. "_ How the hell you got myt-"

"That's enough about me... Now let's talk about what you just did! About how you managed to send me flying!" Maxwell did not appreciate the overly cheerful tone in her voice. "You must be some talented mage, that definitely didn't come from your own strength."

"Outstanding assessment, Einstein. Now I got things to be doing, so... I'm gonna bounce, away."

Maxwell stepped to the side once more and began to walk towards Grangold. However, this time around, his path wasn't blocked by a furry monster girl. She didn't attempt to walk up to his side or follow behind him. _Glad that problem's taken care of. Really, I'm not 'group project' type material. Probably since I end up doing most of the work anyway._

With that Maxwell started a beat and twirled his stylus along the rhythm.

* * *

After another two miles of walking and humming, Maxwell's dirt road turned into one made out of stone. Lush green grass grew on both sides of the paths, along with trees that ran down the path, ten feet apart- as if they were barriers. But it was not the clean stone path, or the landscaping that caught his eye, but rather it was the giant stone wall before him.

It was made out grayish colored stone bricks, and spanned more than one-fifty meters in length. There were the familiar rounded parts of a castle near the entrance, which had some white and grey crest on them. Behind that he could see several circular cylinder structures rising up with red flags that had yellow and red crests within them.

And behind those, Maxwell could see the highest point where one might live. It was surrounded with four of the same cylinder structures he'd seen earlier, and was placed on an already raised part of the castle. "Looks like I'll have to find myself a way up there... or at least gain an audience with a high ranking army member. Shouldn't be too hard, just have to play the part."

Wiping the grin off his face, Maxwell replaced it with a worried one. He approached the gates, caught the attention of two guards and promptly ran towards them. Screaming unpronounceable nonsense, arms wildly waving through the air.

* * *

"Woah, hold on there!" Steve yelled out. He outstretched his arms and placed them on the screaming Safinian, kept him from getting into the city. Black hair, dark skin, some kind of hooded clothing.

As one of the soldiers guarding Grangold, he had experienced a lot while on duty -he had deep scar on his back and one underneath his curtain pale yellow hair to show for that- but, never had he seen a human suddenly go crazy out of no where. "You're going to injure yourself at this rate!"

His partner, Malcolm, put a sword up to the man's throat. Thin, pointed tip; a rapier. The screaming stop, but the babbling and wide frantic eyes remained. "So what business do you have here?"

Steve groaned. Malcolm was quick to resort to threats and violence to get things done, so he should've expected the result. "Mal, can you put the sword away? I don't think this person's an attacke-"

"It shut him up didn't it, Steve?" Malcom grumbled, cutting him off as he moved the sword away from the man and sheathed it.

 _I'd say violence is not always the answer... but that would be hypocritical of myself._ Steve would definitely need to find the guy some new hobbies that didn't involve physical fighting. Maybe chess would work. A room with an Automata girl, maybe. _Well, maybe not the last one. Ilias knows how much he hates the blasted monsters._

The Safinian began to babble nonsense from his mouth, until it started to make sense. "Ebah, guaheeh... War, there's gonna be a war! My traveling compaions, the- they-!"

"War, you say?" The rapier was out in a second, this time a near inch away from the Safinian's chest. Specifically his heart. "So did you come to survey the area for your country? Who are you working for? Grand Noah, Sabasa, San Ilia, one of the Nomad tribes?!"

War? Why would any country declare war on Grangold with the way things were right now? Grand Noah obviously knew that Grangold had grown in magic pile, and even if that wasn't the case, there were the Golem and Ant girls that now worked on their side. And Sabasa? Too far to even be a threat, and they enjoyed their desert region for the last few centuries. What would cause them to suddenly go to war?

"I have to agree with my partner here. To us, it seems that you're playing some kind of joke. An unfunny joke. You could land yourself a nice spot in our prison for trying to create a panic."

The man in his grip frowned slightly at those words. "Th- This is no panic! Me and the caravan I was with were just traveling through Plantsect Forest when we got ambush by them plant and insect monster girls! I mean, look at these ripped dreads!"

"You say you got yourself ambushed by plants and insect monster girls? Doesn't sound like a likely story to me," Mal said with a raised eyebrow. His rapier hadn't lowered. "Why would those two groups work together? Last I heard, they were in some kind of civil war among themselves. They are more likely to fight each other to get men than they are to work together to get said men."

Steve had to admit, Mal did have a point. He'd even seen it first hand -the way the two monster groups had interacted with one another- when on scouting mission. In fact it was the reason they didn't have too much trouble on the mission, the monster girls' infighting didn't leave them too much free time to go after his group.

On one occasion, -when he had the ability and the money to spare- he had asked a pal of his to ask the Ant Queen just what she thought of the plants. It didn't come to a surprise to him when he found that she wished to eradicate each and every plant, hated them even more than she hated the humans that had placed her in her seal.

"W-Well, then you're gonna have to put throw previous thoughts out the window, cause them plants and insects don't seem to be infighting no more." A malicious grin stretched across the man's face. "I o- overheard them insects when I had been the escaping, and they were saying something about a war..."

Steve blinked.

"A war with _Grangold_." A finger jabbed towards his face. Narrowed eyes. "A war with _you_."

Gone were the narrowed eyes, the wide grin. A neutral expression in its place, along with no sign of malicious intent. A trick of the eye?

 _I'm sure it's nothing. Mal would've been able to tell if things were going south._ "So you're saying is that the plant and insects have managed to put aside their current conflict and cooperate with each other? And for war even?!" Steve's grip on the man's shoulders loosened and the man walked free.

Mal on the other hand, frowned. "If what this man is saying has even a shimmer of truth in it..." He let the sentence go off with the wind, the clear message not far behind.

"I hold not only a shimmer, but an entire stockpile of the truth! You must believe me, unless if you, well..." his voice deepened, "Enjoy being _destructed_. You could embrace it for all I care, I just wanted to warn my fellow humans, maybe even grab an audience with a high ranking soldier to prepare for war."

"So you sure you aren't lying? This is some serious stuff, a war with Plantsect." That much was true, even if Steve couldn't see the plants and insects winning against them with the new magic-science 'technology' Grangold had at their disposal. He wouldn't put it past him if their magic science was the best in the world.

"As sure as a heart attack."

"Heart attack..?" Mal questioned.

Steve noticed that he had lowered the rapier. It was a sign that he believed the Safinian and his information, at least for the current moment.

The Safinian man sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's nothing, just an inside joke me and those caravan folks came up with. You would't understand, really. So, am I free to go, or am I still some kind of 'prisoner'?"

To his surprise, Mal drew back his rapier and sheathed it. "No, you are free... Actually, the king may want to speak with you however."

He winced. "So, it's off to the neck-chopper o' matic with me, huh?" The Safinian drew a line across his throat.

Steve smiled and laughed. "Ha ha ha, not at all. The king doesn't really do that, he tends to slack off most of the time these days, thanks to the help of the Ant girls. This leaves him a lot of free time, of that he which uses to listen to adventurer's stories. It also would also make things easier if you were there to tell the king about this incoming invasion. If what you say if true, we can't waste much time, hurry on after us to the castle. That is you'd like to."

"Sure, I guess. Can't imagine meeting a ruler is an everyday thing. At least for most people."

"Good, that king's been getting more lazy by the day. Maybe this will get him up for once. Mal, I'm guessing you're going to remain guarding?"

"Of course. I couldn't bear to meet that _thing_ I am supposed to call my king. He's useless, probably couldn't even survive a single minute in battle. Sitting on his throne all day and having _monsters_ of all things walking around and doing all his duties," Mal answered coolly, each of his words laced with venom. His breath was slow, retained with a simple, yet effective frown. "So much potential... and it's all wasted on one fucking, lazy bastard."

To one not from Grangold -such as the Safinian-, Malcolm's words might've sounded like an assassin planning to kill the king or even one from an invading army. But as someone who had lived in Grangold for nearly thirty-three, and had been serving for six, Steve knew it was the truth. A sad and embarrassing one, but nonetheless the truth.

Because of this, he to a degree, wished that the Safinian's claims of war on the horizon were indeed correct. A war would be the most likely way to actually get that lazy bastard of a king off his throne and start acting his part. With that, morale within the kingdom would go up, and there would be less talks of 'taking care of the king' going around.

"Follow me, uhh..." It came to Steve that he hadn't asked for the Safinian's name for the duration of the questioning.

"Ma- Russel," the Safinian provided. He had calmed down after the initial outburst, seemingly relieved to be providing them with the information.

"Right then Russel, follow me to the castle. I'll be sure to get you situated with the king so he can hear what you have to say."

Steve walked unto the wooden bridge and into the heart of Grangold, making sure to keep Russel in his line of sight as he trailed not too far behind him.

* * *

"So you guys really do have Ant girls walking around the city," Russel said, looking towards a group of said monsters working to renovate another building in the marketplace. "And they are actually working in a human city; that's pretty unlikely. Some kind of magic at work?"

"You are correct in the sense that we are using magic... but I can not just give random people confidential information. Not that I know how those Magician Scientists are doing all this." Steve read the expression on Russel's face and came up with only curiosity. He would've been surprised if he didn't, as Grangold's Magic-Science was the only one of it's type in the entire world.

Even if a spy managed to gain information on it, they would find themselves unable to replicate the results.

"Don't you guys not fear retribution of any kind? If the Ant girls manage to get free, you lot would be in for a world of pain. Or pleasure, I can't know everyone's _tastes_."

"Well, they haven't gotten free in the last five years, and I doubt they'd be getting out now. And for 'pleasure', we have the Automata dolls to take care of that. Sex monster dolls, but with out the risk." Noticing the blank stare, Russel gave him Steve chuckled, in turn garnering a frown from the man walking beside him.

"You guys created... living, moving, Sex dolls, because...?" Russel heavily exhaled, shaking his head slowly and muttering something under his breath. From his tone, he wasn't impressed with what he had just heard. "Seems like a waste of resources to me. You have all these Ant girls here, right? Just throw yourself at one and order them not to rape you to death. There done, I solved the centuries old problem."

"I agree, it is a waste of resources... but the king and some of the public wanted Automata girls, so we got Automata girls." Although, the Grangold king was a lazy man who didn't seem to do much nowadays, he was still the King; the one born with the Royal Blood within him.

"Sounds like you could use a new King. A less lazy King, in fact." Russel broke eyes contact and looked away with a small smile on his face.

Steve couldn't detect any malice coming from the man, but still kept up his guard, especially after that comment. While the king could use _some_ magic, all it would take only one quick blow to take him out. He sighed. "Perhaps a training regiment would get him into work."

"I shall carry luggage for you human."

Russel visibly flinched, but paused mid-step. He turned his head to face an Ant girl, who was currently holding out four of her hands. "So you got these things working as cheap chauffeurs? Where'd she even come from anyway?"

"Of course, along with labor, these monsters are useful for menial tasks such as carrying luggage for people. You can let her carry your luggage if you'd like." Steve looked around, checking for any access points where the Ant girl might've came from. He came up with nothing. "For your second question, I'd guess that she just came to us when we were in her view."

Russel squinted his eyes and stared right into the Ant girl's own. "Tell me, what is five times one hundred, plus eight, minus zero?"

"The answer equates to five hundred and eight, sir," the Ant girl answered in her usual monotone devoid of emotion. "Do you still require me to carry your luggage?"

That was something else. Usually the only people using math skills were the scholars, merchants or those who worked close to nobility. And the man before him did not look like any of those types. Maybe he just over-appreciated numbers? "Why did you ask the Ant girl that? Was there something you needed from that?"

"No, I was just curious about something. Robotic responses are usually things seen in movies nowadays. It really brings me back to the two-thousand's." Russel lightly chuckled as he walked up to the Ant girl, until he was just behind her, his shadow cast long by the overhead sun. The Ant girl remained still as a statue. "No antennae? Or is it just covered by hair?"

 _Two-thousands? Brings me back? Robotic responses?_ Steve had many questions for the Safinian but decided to ask one of them. "What exactly do you mean by, movie?"

"It's nothing. Nothing you'd or anyone here would understand, think of it as an inside joke, if that helps. The long version would be impossible for you to understand." Russel turned, walked back to Steve's side. He looked the Ant girl in the eyes. "What're you still doing here? Bugger off, find some other poor sap to help."

"...Understood, human," she droned before walking away.

Steve would've been offended, but he was almost certain that Russel was some traveling scholar. Chances were, he'd probably not understand any explanation of this 'movie' thing from Russel. "You didn't have to be rude, that Ant girl was just doing her job and trying to be helpful."

"I was doing my job as well, telling it to bugger off. And as customer, whatever I say is always right, since the customer is always right..." Russel paused, as if formulating the sentence as he spoke. "...or is that the guest? Practically the same thing."

 _'The customer is always right?' That is a highly inaccurate statement, but is it just another one of his 'inside jokes'?_ It was hard to tell, the man seemed like a scholar at times, while looking the part of a fool at others. That was rather troublesome, if not dangerous. "We will soon be reaching the castle, so please, stay close by. I'd hate to go off and look for you among all these people."

"Reasonable."

* * *

The castle soon came into view, with Russel gawking at the building. He was probably looking at the grand flag that stood above the whole city, built upon a pole that extended from the castle itself.

"Incredible, isn't it? Its one of the few things that have remained since the early days of Grangold. That also includes the castle as well, although it has gone through many repairs throughout the centuries." Hearing nothing back, Steve smiled and paused to let the man get a good look at the castle.

It was a building worthy of being called grand, built solely by humans back in the days when humans only required the great and loving care of their Goddess: Ilias. As such, there was a statue of the Goddess Ilias standing in front of the entrance to the castle, a grand testament to her power over the kings of the world. From the caring look on its sky-blue eyes, the golden, ankle length hair, to the traditional pose it took -one hand to a breast and the other behind its back- Steve thought it succeed well on that manner.

Steve bowed, offering a prayer in front of the statue. It was almost routine at this point, he never pasted by the statue without offering a prayer at least once. However, he didn't close his eyes while praying, keeping them trained on Russel.

He too, had his eyes set on the statue of the Goddess Ilias. But they didn't reflect the same respect and awe Steve had for it, had for his creator.

Although his lower face remained neutral, his eyes were something else. They were the eyes of someone looking at the lowest piece of scum in the world; utter disgust, without a hint of compassion or compromise. Steve knew those eyes very well, he'd seen it on the faces of those on the battle field.

But not even the most zealous of soldiers he'd seen had the amount of contempt for the monsters, Russel seemed to hold for the statue, and by that extension, the Goddess Ilias.

If Steve was being honest, it didn't settle well with him. But Russel hadn't done anything to hurt the kingdom, and if what he had said was true, hurting another human would only damage their kingdom in the future. _As long as I have the upper hand on him, I don't think he knows I've seen him earlier._

"Oi, do you two mind telling me what business you have at the castle?"

Steve looked up and Russel mimicked his actions- sans the disgusted look in his eyes from earlier. It was one of the many guards of the castle, with the metal breastplate branded with a checkered insignia in them.

"I must deliver an urgent message to your king, along with telling him fun bedtime stories," Russel spoke up. He waved a hand in Steve's direction. "This laddie's just here to escort me to said king, so I don't get myself into a body-bag on my way here."

"I see." The guard turned to face Steve. "Is what this Safinian is saying true?"

"Yes, I would not dare to bother his majesty's time with such lies."

"All right, then." The guard lifted a spear over his shoulder and gave Steve a barely noticeable nod. "You're free to carry on."

Russel glanced at the vanishing figure of the guard before turning back to him. "So we get in. And just like that?" His voice held a subtle mocking tone, one Steve didn't like very much.

"Yes." What was he supposed to say? That the kingdom's, _his_ kingdom's security was lacking? That would be a blow to Grangold's pride, let alone his own. Along with that, the last time a hostile had gotten themselves up to castle was years before his birth.

Russel raised a hand that failed to cover the smile on his face. "No background checks, no waiting for them to pat you down for weapons, zero signs of detection spells. If those are a thing. They do exist, right?" He raised both of his hands to his sides.

"They do."

"And you don't use them, despite how incompetent this king of yours is." It was an observation, not a question. Russel sighed. "Well, I won't complain since, I do hate waiting in lines to get to places. But you lot really need to get this place into gear. With war on the horizon, you need all the defense stats you can get."

 _Defense stats? What in Ilias' name are those?_ "...I'll be sure to bring that up with the king." _Even though he's likely not to take it seriously, the old fool._ Despite his inner thoughts, Steve kept up a calm, sturdy expression.

Just as a guard should always do, to watch for any potential attacks.

* * *

"I will admit, that this is one pretty nice castle. Wouldn't mind lying low and bunkering myself up here for a few days."

"Of course. This castle has remained in this spot ever since the coming of the fifth king, after all," Steve agreed, keeping pace with the Safinian. The castle itself was nothing new to him, as he had been in and out of the place more times then he could count. From gold-tipped pillars, to the gleaming red floor to the hanging crystal chandeliers. He'd seen it all.

But Steve couldn't blame Russel for his reaction, as he knew first hand what the castle appeared to be to newcomers. And it was a nice change of pace to hear him not putting down Grangold.

The two of them continued through the halls, and soon enough, they began walking atop a lush, red carpet instead of the polished marble floor.

"Red carpet seems to be transcendent as well..." As he had done previous times before, Russel said something that made zero sense.

Steve didn't have time to comment on it before he was face to face with His Royal Highness, King Frangos[1] of Grangold. Immediately, he dropped to a knee and lowered his head. "My king, I apologize for not taking notice of your presence earlier."

"Ah, there is no need for you to bow before me..." King Frangos muttered something under his breath before sitting atop his throne, the bright golden and red thing that sat atop a set of stairs. "...ah that's right, Steve! Feel free to rise when you are ready. And introduce me to this Safinian you brought here, while you do so."

"Of course, my King." Steve rose back into a standing position. He held out a hand in Russel's direction. "This i-"

Russel coughed. It was too loud, too sudden for it to be natural. "Actually, I believe that I'm perfectly capable of introducing myself. It is my name after all, Grangold King. I tend to be an expert in the most personal matters. Those concerning myself that is."

"You have quite some humor in you," King Frangos said in an excited tone. "I am Frangos, King of Grangold, as you must already know. Now go on and introduce yourself so we can get to the fun stuff. I'm sure someone like you has quite a lot of adventurous stories to tell another person."

"Well, I don't know how to phrase this..." Russel started, pausing as if he were forming the thought as he spoke it. His eyes narrowed, a finger pointed at the King. "Actually I do, and it's not pretty. You, the King of Grangold -along with the majority of your kingdom- will not survive the incoming months, unless if you gather and whip your army into gear. And I am the bearer of that message."

An expression of shock flashed across the King's face, before deflating into a series of laughs. "Ha ha ha! Why I haven't had a good laugh like that in years! You almost got me with that one, I should make you a Jester in my court! Ha ha ha!" King Frangos repeatedly slammed his fist against the throne, clutching it with another hand.

 _Why can't he take things seriously for once?_ Steve privately grumbled.

The laughter subsided as King Frangos seemed to realize no one had been laughing along with him. He turned towards Steve. "You are in on this joke too, aren't you?" A worried tone, barely noticeable.

Steve could only frown and shake his head. "Of course not, My King. I wouldn't waste His Majesty's time with mere jokes. If that was all this Safinian -Russel- had to offer, I wouldn't have lead him up here."

"Russel..." King Frangos muttered, now lost in thought. His face contorted, several different expressions seemingly fighting to come out at once. He turned towards Russel. "And you, is this the truth?"

"Yes. It is not a lie that I overheard and saw both Plant and Insect type monsters planning to come here for war. Maybe they wanted land, maybe they wanted vengeance of some kind, I didn't get to catch that much, running away and all that." Russel turned his head to stare at a mural of Ilias in the ceiling. After a few seconds, a smile spread across his face. A genuine smile. It did not suit him. "I only wish for the best for humanity. Why would I lie _and_ send my fellow humans into some deep angst-filled state. I'd gain nothing from that."

Steve read the expression on his face, and found only truth, sincerity. _Wishing the best for humanity._ Hearing Russel speak an actual full truth was something that threw him off a bit.

"I see." King Frangos went silent and stared at the red carper that lead into the room. His head fell back and his arms drifted to his sides, in a lazed but controlled posture.

"Heyo..!" Russel waved a hand in King Frangos' direct line of sight. He didn't show any signs of movement, other than the blinking of his eyes. Russel frowned, and snapped his fingers. Again, King Frangos did not move.

"What do you think you're doing?" Steve hissed, batting aside Russel's stray hand. "Don't do that to His Majesty."

Russel only shrugged, but it was obvious that he didn't really care about his words. "I think I broke the man. Probably wouldn't matter if I were to snap my fingers in him face. Hell, I doubt explosives would get this guy outta this trance."

"I don't know what you people are doing in Sentoria, but in Grangold we don't make rude gestures in front of the King. Neither do we make strange on-"

The sudden sound of footsteps gave Steve pause. He turned towards the doorway, discretely moving a hand towards his sword. when he saw that it was merely one of the Ant girls, he sighed and rested his posture.

"Excuse me, King. I bring a message to you from the Eastern District," she droned.

"Hubah...?" King Frangos managed blurted something unintelligible without moving any other part of his body. His lips slowly moved to close.

The Ant girl stared right into the King's eyes. "King? Do you require assistance? I shall bring you your medical staff."

"Hold up, there's no need to go looking for a medical staff, doctor or whatnot. I'm like all of those combined, but better. Kinda like a half-off deal at the Dollar Tree." Russel stood in between King Frangos and the Ant girl. He rose his right hand and shut both his eyes. "Scouts honor."

Steve frowned. He'd been doing a lot frowning lately than he usually would've. That was probably thanks to Russel. "Who and what are the scouts exactly?" The sooner Russel left, the sooner Steve wouldn't have to think about foreign terms he was sure _never_ existed in the world. He was a soldier for Ilias' sake, not some over-zealous scholar.

"Scouts ar- No, _we_ are an elite force that fights against the evils of this world. Every summer, there are a few of us selected to go out into the woods, bear the elements and destroy sources of the evil deeds in this world." Russel grinned, a playful look in his eyes. "You probably haven't heard of us, as we are an _elite_ force, known only to the few have clearance to know such things."

"And this so called, 'Elite force' has greater knowledge in medicine than His Majesty's medical staff?"

"Of course. How else would be brave the Great Biting of '43 or the Packing of '81?"

Steve remained silent, thoroughly unimpressed.

Russel stepped up to the king, rose a hand and slapped the King right across the face. In turn, His Majesty, King Frangos of Grangold abruptly rose his head and cried out.

King Frangos brought a hand up to where he was slapped; his left cheek. "Oh, oh my."

"Yes, 'Oh, oh my', is the correct expression you should be having."

Steve stood still, flabbergasted. In his defense, it wasn't everyday when you had a Safinian warn about incoming war, talk nonsense and slap King Frangos across the face. He held no doubt that if Mal was here, Russel would've already lost his head the exact moment a single word came out of his mouth.

"That is not the proper etiquette to be showing in front of a King, human." The Ant girl turned towards King Frangos. "And King, if you are able to listen now- I bringing you a message from the Eastern district."

 _She's not helping. Ilias damned monster._ But Steve was different. Knocking out Russel, _then_ bringing him to the dungeons was a much more reasonable option. "My King, I apologize for bringing this ruffian into the castle of you and your forefathers. I'll be sure to fix this mistake immediately." Steve grabbed Russel by the hood of his... bizarre attire.

"Hey hey," he chastised. "Mind the jacket. Me and it been through a lot together, its practically a part of me at this point."

Just for that, Steve increased the force on his hood.

Russel glowered. "Look buddy, my friend gets damaged, _I_ will be damaging you."

"Look at your position. After what you did to His Majesty, there is no place for you to be making demands."

"Cease this at once!" King Frangos bellowed as he rose from his throne. Gone was his previous look of despair, a face filled with grim determination overtaking its place. That wasn't to say it had disappeared in its entirety, it just wasn't as prominent as his sudden determination.

"Of course, your Majesty." Steve, taken by surprise at King Frangos' commanding tone, let Russel's hood go in the midst of it. _His Majesty is talking just as a proper King should now._ It strange hearing him like this, but it wasn't an unwelcomed tone. Rather, he'd prefer to hear King Frangos speak more like he just did in the future.

More importantly, just _why_ was King Frangos acting like this?

King Frangos rubbed his chin with a hand. "I think, I've just had a revelation. It was like someone slapped my mind out of that rather embarrassing presentation you saw earlier... along with my face."

"Well, of course you did. My special techniques have worked since the beginning of time itself, even beyond the age of the gods," Russel 'explained', flashing Steve a shit-eating grin.

"But," The Ant girl began, twitching one of her antennae. "From what I could observe, you - Safinian human - were performing a slap that hit across the King's face. A normal one, with no unusual features."

Russel winced from the bluntness of her statement. "It was a diluted medical technique. A _heavily_ diluted medical technique, for it has been many a millennia since it has seen its true power."

"I have not seen any record in existence of Ilias or these gods of yours performing powerful slaps in the past."

Russel merely shrugged. "You weren't there, so you have no place to be saying these untruths. Mind you, I wasn't there either, but there are ruins left from way back when..."

"That isn't important at this time. All that I know is that I'm no longer wallowing and Plantsect is going to war with us." King Frangos began to pace in a circle around his throne.

"There is also a message from Eastern District I bring to you, King," The Ant girl brought up the reason she had came. "It concerns the Increasing prices, along with the problem of competition among merchants."

"Yes yes, you go along and deal with that," King Frangos said, nodding absentmindedly. "You do whatever you think would be best."

 _And... he's still the same lazy King who sends Ant girls to do what should be his work._ Steve thought as he watched the Ant girl leave the room. He decided that hoping for the King to suddenly become competent over the span of a few minutes would be just too much to hope for. Actually, the fact that he was even considering the Safinian's 'medical techniques' as realistic called for a break after this was done.

A long one.

When the Ant girl was gone, King Frangos turned towards Steve and Russel.

"Now, with the issue on the plant and insects. I think it is time for us to properly prepare for war." He scratched the side of his head. An obvious nervous tic. "This would be the current decision, would it?"

It took Steve a moment to realize that His Majesty was indeed, talking to him. He bent down to a knee. "Yes, I believe that the army must be made alert of this war as soon as possible. Them and the magic-scientists. They could build us some new monster we could use to our advantage."

"Yes yes, good ideas. Also, I did tell you don't have to bow before me, yes?"

Steve rose.

Whether King Frangos clearly processed what Steve said or was just blabbering went unknown. He walked towards Russel, and planted a hand on his shoulder. "And you, you were the one who brought m- No, brought Grangold this message. I must greatly thank you for this information; gold, fine clothes, women, perhaps even one of our Golems or Ant girls. It will be to your choosing."

To his credit, Russel actually paused and thought in place.

 _A smart choice,_ Steve agreed. With one having His Majesty offering to give you what you wished for, there were many choices to pick fr-

"Easy." Okay, maybe he wasn't as good at biding his time as Steve thought. Russel continued, saying, "I would like gold, that's it."

"That's all?" King Frangos seemed surprised. "You don't want anything else? I'd even give you fine residence in this castle. Or even a nice manor out in the fields."

Russel nodded. "That's it. If I wanted to have a 'fine residence', I would've already had one. I have the gold for it. I think. I'm not so good at this counting money, as I am at saving it."

"Then why ask for more gold?"

"Does a person need a reason to want more and more money?"

"Well, uh... no." King Frangos relented. Frowning slightly, he sat back back down on his throne. He leaned back, narrowed his eyes the tiniest bit and sighed. "What was it... ah, Steve. Yes, Steve, you will go and alert our Military about this incoming threat. And if you are able to, tell those magic scientists we need more Magic-Science golems."

Steve ignored the fact that His Majesty had nearly forgotten his name, nodded, and pounded a fist against his breastplate. "Of course, I will fulfill His Majesty's will. As it is my duty."

"Great!" King Frangos said with a mighty smile. He shifted his body to face Russel. "And you Safinian, I'll have an Ant girl come around with the gold you requested. How would two thousand gold coins sound?"

"Deal," Russel agreed, oblivious to the fact that he was getting ripped off. The King had more than enough money to spare from Taxes taken the previous month. He moved to shake the King's hand. "I'm glad our money situations settled, usually they end up with me on the wrong side of Loan Sharks. Not a fun side."

"I see." It was obvious from his tone, that King Frangos did not understand the latter half of Russel's sentence. The Safinian in question either didn't care or didn't notice. "In the meantime, you can stay in the garden, while you wait for your payment."

"And where are these gardens, exactly?"

"I'll just have... Steve escort you there. It shouldn't be too much of a problem, it's on the path to where he is headed anyway." King Frangos fully settled back into his throne. "I wish you two the best of luck, for our survival of course."

 _Luck? We have no need for those things. I have no need for it._ Steve didn't voice his inner thoughts. He only nodded and started his way out of the room. Russel followed after him.

* * *

"Here are the gardens." Steve waved his hand, although the gesture or words weren't needed. Hedges trimmed into shapes of Ilias and other various figures, fountains with flowerbeds surrounding them, a miniature waterfall cascading down a set of miniature stairs that led into an artificial lake. "You may sit on that bench next to Ilias."

Russel eyed the stone carvings of Ilias and smiled what may have possibly been the fakest smile he'd ever seen. "How lovely. Boy, do I love Ilias'... uh, breasts? Muy bueno?" He made cupping gestures with his hands around his chest, then took a seat on the wooden bench, lifted a leg over another and stretched back his arms.

 _Of course, that's the first thing you non-believers would focus on. And what the hell does 'muy bueno' mean anyway?_ Steve faked a cough. "I have to go elsewhere, so stay and don't go anywhere. Causing trouble 'round the castle isn't going to make things look good for the information you brought in."

"Sitting still's my middle name and catching money is my game. There's no need for me to go and risk the chance of losing my sudden money gains." He smirked, in a way that indicated he knew something others didn't. "Especially when things are going to be getting hectic in here. My _talents_ won't be needed."

"Your talents?"

"Y'know, breathing, thumb waring, getting into prohibited areas, that sort of thing."

"I'm sure none of those 'talents' of yours would be useful in a war situation," Steve deadpanned.

Russel shrugged, showed a small smile. "I am very good at improvising. I'd even call myself one of the best."

Steve could only sigh and shake his head. _Y_ ou _arrogant Safinian. Someone like you, who keeps playing around, won't be the best in anything war-related._ "I'll leave you to your own devices, as I must get going. You, stay here and don't get yourself into trouble."

Russel saluted. "Aye aye, captain!"

Steve half-smiled and turned away, making his way through the garden. As he walked, he could hear the thumping of Russel's feet against the stone road slowly fade away as he got further and further away.

* * *

1\. Frangos in Portuguese, means chicken. The reasoning behind the names should be self-explanatory.


	23. Big Think

**Goqqi: Glad to see that you enjoy it. And there are definitely more events to come!**

 **Ayman: 'Muy grande' is the correct response.**

 **Remember to favorite, review and follow. Mostly review.**

* * *

Things _are going just right,_ was what he thought as he strolled down the streets of Grangold. No longer in need of that bothersome 'Russel' persona, he nudged it to the side, and brought back Maxwell Richards.

He had more gold, passed along the 'warning' to Grangold and met with the King- who didn't look like that much of a King in his opinion. Hell, even he'd make a much better King than that Frangos fellow, and that really was something coming from a guy who instigated war.

"Maybe, I'm giving myself a little _too_ much credit," Maxwell muttered as he pushed his way against the crowd. An elbow to the ribs here, an outlying foot there, a foot that accidentally found its way on the shoes of another. Such was the way to quicken your travel speed. _I'd make a much better dictator than I would King; none of those silly little rules or constitutions to hold me back. And death forbid that there be any Gods I'd have to suck ass to, not my cup of cocoa._

He wondered what it would take to become the newly crowned dictator when he turned a corner and and was faced with a mostly empty alley. Only a wooden crates laid at the end of the path. Maxwell couldn't tell if they were empty or not, but what he did know was that wooden crates made for great handholds.

He grinned, and a moment later he was leaping over the rooftops of the marketplace, enjoying the feeling of the wind and the warmth of the setting sun on his face. Moments like this sometimes made him wonder what it would be like to fly, but he ignored those thoughts. He was already technically cheating with his ability- no need to add something that would just outright ignore all his obstacles.

That just wouldn't be fun.

Maxwell opted to stay on the err side of caution, kept himself on the side of the rooftops that most people wouldn't catch sight of him. While there were still spots where people could see him if they managed to get a lucky glance, his current method held the least chance of gaining a parade of guardsmen after him. He didn't think his welcoming reception would be so _welcoming_ the next time he found himself in the castle.

 _Huh, those greedy pigeons are here too?_ Maxwell noticed a flock of the bothersome birds resting on a ledge. Apparently, some things never changed, no matter what world you were... which could be said for quite a bit of events that had occurred.

He stepped unto the ledge, and for a brief moment, he hung still in the air. Gravity and momentum battled for dominance, and as usual gravity came out the victor, sending him hurtling down to Earth. He landed in a mound of forgotten, dry hay and climbed out, humming cheerfully. _Looks like I still got it. To be expected living in this 'monster' infested world,_ he thought with a happy sigh.

"Hey!" A sudden shout caused him to pause, barely holding back the automatic reflex to jump.

He turned around, meeting the face of a woman, twenty-something, dressed in green. She had some kind of flower stuck in her long, black hair. And those were... white gloves he saw? Great, he managed to run into some kind of noble, while on a joy-run. _I really need to come up with better words for 'run'. Repetitive thoughts are annoying._

Maxwell shifted his eyes to met her gaze and shrugged widely, arms out. "What?! There's some kind of rule that prohibits people from taking the faster, easier and more exciting path?"

"Of course not!" The woman answered sternly. Her eyes narrowed. "But the only ones in need for such things are rapscallions. No good man would dare risk his life for just mere 'excitement'."

Technically she was right; Maxwell _was_ a criminal, even if practically no one knew that or would be able to prove it. But since that was the case, it meant he wasn't a criminal in any way. If no one could prove it, he was as free as a germ. "Then mark this as the day, you've first seen a good man do some parkour in the sense of fun. Now if you excuse me... I got to find myself outta here."

Maxwell dug his heel into the ground, turned around and jumped.

The wooden fence was high enough to stop a regular human's jump from getting across it, but its defensive were useless in front of Maxwell's abilities. He had no doubt the woman was staring wide-eyed at his figure as he made his way over the fence.

Definitely not the sort of thing one came across everyday. Especially not in the ye olde medieval times.

But that was in his old world. 'Magic' made all the difference in this other one.

He found himself in another alley, away from the women, faced away from the wooden fence. A quick jog later and he found himself with about three different Inns a few buildings are so away from each other.

That wasn't intentional. Had he been transported to an rpg-type world, he would've immediately checked his luck stats, as they were sure to be one of the lower - if not the lowest - stats he held. Maybe this game was broken, and that could only be for his benefit.

* * *

Ten minutes later and he had yet to find himself a spot in an Inn. Strangely the first two Inns had no vacancies, as they had been completely filled up in only the past few days. It seemed like too much to merely be a coincidence, but Maxwell just passed it off as some bad luck.

He chuckled without humor. _Seems like my luck stats were all right after all. No random glitches there._

Maxwell entered the third Inn, and went straight to work at haggling for a room. Unsurprisingly, he found that most of the space in the Inn were also booked. But there was a silver lining, as _most..._ did not necessarily mean _all_.

"So I will be getting a room, but it's a shared one." Maxwell sighed and placed his arms on the counter. "That is what you're saying to me, yes?"

"I am sorry, but it is the best we can do at this moment, with all our current rooms filled." The man behind the counter adjusted his necktie and gave Maxwell a slightly apologetic look. "That is, unless if you would like go out searching for another Inn at this time. There will be thieves after your goods and with the night aiding them, they will be impossible to catch."

 _Not impossible, but too much trouble to deal with._ Maxwell crossed his fingers over one another, hid his thoughts under a smile. Like usual. "You do bring up a good point, my good man. But tell me, is this room a single, or a double?"

"Single? Double?" The Innkeeper frowned as he said those words in a questioning manner. "I'm sorry, but I can not say that I understand what you are talking about. Or how it would relate to our Inn rooms."

"So, those terms weren't invented this far back... No matter, I'll just explain it in a more simpler version." He raised both of his hands. One had all but his index finger closed in a fist, and the other had two fingers pointed up. Maxwell chose to ignore the _look_ the Innkeeper was giving him. "Single; that's for one person and doubles; they're for two people. And then we could have triples, quadruples, and even quintuples. But those are rare combinations to come by."

"I see." It was obvious the Innkeeper didn't care about anything Maxwell had just said. He let that slide. "In your words, this room would be of the 'double' variety. There are two beds inside, with a window one one of the sides. Of course, seeing your predicament, I'm willing to lower to price."

"To how much?" At the other Inns he had tried to check into, the prices ranged from as low as five hundred gold, up to five thousand gold; and that wasn't counting any possible luxury rooms either.

"Usually, for one of these larger rooms, I'd charge about... a thousand five-hundred, two thousand gol-"

Maxwell broke into a coughing fit as he promptly choked on empty air. He paused, still heaving out non-existent chunks. "TWO thousand, you say?" He gasped out.

The Innkeeper rose a single eyebrow. "Yes."

It was a miracle - possibly divine intervention - that stopped Maxwell from having an aneurysm and immediately blowing his head open, spreading his lover gray matter all over the floor on the spot. It took a few minutes till Maxwell could stop his body from spasming at random intervals.

He attempted a sigh, but only coughed up more air. "So what's the price now?"

The Innkeeper hummed. "I'll take two-fifty gold. Most of the space in this Inn has been booked, so I currently have a lot more money on my hands now. I can easily afford to lower the price, even more so for a customer whose sharing a room."

Maxwell rubbed his chin, letting a little jitter pass through his leg. "I can do that. Much more reasonable price for a room than two fucking thousand. Really, how do you stay in business with prices that high?"

A shrug. "I've heard of Inns with rooms that go up to a million gold coins. Two thousand is barely a deal compared to that. It's a steal, practically robbery."

"Oooh, shiiite," Maxwell said, sliding the required amount of gold across the counter, "How the hell are prices like that even legal? And who is retarded enough to get rooms from these Innkeepers?"

"Heroes, most of the time. Just give them a few sweet lines and they'll fall for it like monsters to a man. Sometimes I can't tell if it's ignorance or just an over inflated ego."

Maxwell snorted. "It's both. Self-induced illusions of being the greatest hero in the ever of all of history tends to block out some of the 'less important but actually important details in life'." _But one can't deny their usefulness, barring certain situations._

The Innkeeper let out a little laugh"True, true. Can't argue with that!" He handed Maxwell a key. "I hope you don't have too much trouble in your shared room."

He read the words on its side. _Room 264. I'm surprised that I can actually read this language. Has English been adopted internationally here? The creator of this world must be really butthurt over a majority human planet. At this point it wouldn't be much of a surprise if She/He/It has had an aneurysm the moment I came into existence._

Maxwell often wondered if he merely was just in another world, or if he had found himself in another universe altogether, an alternate timeline, another _possibility_ of the Earth he lived on. The amount of coincidences he kept running into seemed to indicate the latter, although if that was true, he ran a strong chance of running into an alternate version of himself in the future.

And if that happened, well, that'd be an interesting chat he'd have that day.

He looked up to see the Innkeeper waiting for a response. "Yeah, you too mate." With that, he walked into the heart of the Inn, and sighed as he looked up the stairs. There were a lot of them, and they held no end in sight.

"As they say, one small step for mankind..."

* * *

"And..." Maxwell paused to breath out. "Another gigantic failure for all lifeforms."

He had been walking around the Inn for some time, although his best would come up with about twenty minutes in total. Somehow, he managed to find practically every single room in the entire Inn except the one he was looking for.

The concept was similar to a labyrinth constructed by a skilled, yet equally sadistic game developer. Whenever you tried looking for a specific item the item ceased to exist, but whenever you _didn't_ try looking for said item, it would become the most obvious thing in the world. Sometimes - such as in this case - the concept would find a way to manifest in the real world and screw with one's life.

In fact, it was when Maxwell was heading for a bathroom, that he found his room. In place that he swore he'd passed over multiple times. However, he wasn't one to question such luck, and took the moment to promptly unlock his door. Metal handle. Strange mechanism for a medieval-type world, but that guard... Steve, had said Grangold was one of the more technological advances countries. Although, that did not explain why it was so _similar_ to his much more advanced Earth's locks. Something just didn't sit right with him on that manner.

Behind both beds was a large mirror that spanned across the entire back wall of the room. It was unnecessarily large, which would explain the just as equally outrageous prices usually needed to stay in the room. The beds had colored sheets, and there was more than enough space for a single person in the room.

Maxwell was distracted enough that he almost didn't notice the person sitting on the bed closest to the window. Further inspection showed that it was a man of average height with short grey hair. The sword on his bedside didn't go unnoticed. Neither did the chain figurine of Ilias round his neck.

"So you're the one the whose going to be sleeping in this here room with me tonight?" he managed to say the words with barely held back glee. He clasped his hands together. A smile on his face. "Let's thank Ilias for her gracing us with fellow humans instead of an ungrateful monster."

He glanced quickly at her hand, examined the hand for any obvious weaponry, then spread a crazed grin. "I imagine that this situation is wholly up to chance. Granted, I'm sure Ilias is powerful, but these circumstances... well, I doubt she would or could plan something this... mundane. Really, there have to be better things for her to spend her time on."

The man nodded. "That is true, I doubt our great goddess would waste her time on someone like me. But you can not deny that Ilias is a wonderful, an amazing goddess who judges all correctly in her godly vision. The one who'll stand up to all monsters for our sake!"

Maxwell sat on his bedside. "I can."

"Well, then! That means you're a heretic, someone who does not understand Ilias' truths!" The man's fists clenched to the point that his knuckles were white. "As Lupton, a fellow human of yours and a devotee to Ilias, I have much to teach you of the her greatness and excellence!"

"I will not deny the fact that I'm a heretic. I will also not deny the fact that she holds and wields great power, the fact that she has thousands of human worshipers in this world or the fact that she even exists." _Talking 'bout literal 'gods' that you can meet is much more... weirder than I thought._ "But what it _doesn't_ mean, is that I have to like it. That, I will not deny as well."

Lupton recoiled as if he'd just been kicked in the balls and tortured before being set on fire and thrown into a freezing river. "Why? Why, if you know all of this, what demon could possesses you to not follow Ilias. That is unless if you're some kind of monster in disguise..."

"Woah, dude. Before you begin blowing loads at the thought of this fantasy of yours, I'm like a hundred and ten percent human. In fact, I'm probably the most human 'human' you'll ever see in your life. You will not find a single speck of 'monster' in my blood." _I wasn't from this world, so the percent of monster in my genes has gotta be zilch, nada. Nothing. Unless If I got some secret hidden bloodline no one told me about._

"Then you must be one of those Ilias-damned Monster Lord worshipers! Practicing in the dark arts like your kinsmen have been doing for Ilias-knows how long! Bringing people away from her everlasting love."

Maxwell chuckled. "Uh, no. It'd be plenty hypocritical if I worshiped Monster Lords and just ignored Ilias altogether. Well not hypocritical exactly, I just have no desire to kiss the feet of either. There is no need for them to be butting their way into human matters." _Becoming Dark Edgy Mcfuckface the third is not what I came to accomplish in this world. And if that isn't an 'original character' trait I don't know what is._

"I can understand why you think about the Monster Lords that way - they being the no good slime of the earth they are - but," Lupton paused to gasp melodramatically, "but Ilias, our everlasting goddess having _no_ importance in _human_ matters?! You must be daft, are you not?!"

 _Daft... brings me back to the days of readin' Shakespearean works. The boring days of school._ "Daft? No. Why I don't see Ilias as necessary in human matters? I'm sure before she came along, humans were doing just fine in the world; free without any mysterious, powerful beings leading them along some vague, and unnecessary path. And by unnecessary, I mean unneeded for human civilizations to flourish, or even exist. People tend to usually call it 'Divine Intervention'. I like to call it _Unneeded_ Suppression."

"Ilias? Unnecessary?" Lupton looked surprised he had even uttered the words next to each other, let alone in the same sentence. "Y- You must be mad! That's the only reason there is for... for this heresy! No sane human would dare utter such things! Tell me, what possible reason could there be for you thinking su- such heretical thoughts!"

 _Is this room soundproof or something? By now we should've got both our asses kicked collectively by some angry guest or servant overhearing us._

"Is it wrong to want a _true_ future for humans?" Maxwell lied down, face faced up. He didn't miss how Lupton subtly flinched. He shut his eyes. "To simply want a future where humans are able to truly thrive by their own power, a timeline where humans were without the influence of the god-like beings above and below. A place where humans are truly capable of making _their_ own decisions, and not just ones that were predetermined by another power. There is your answer."

"S- So you're saying that the reason you betray Ilias - our great goddess and protector - is because you want a better future for humans?" Lupton broke into a spell of laughter. "I must be dreaming! Life 'without Ilias would be great', what a joke? I must thank her great wonderfulness for this jester she has brought to me!"

Maxwell chuckled. "Of course, I'm not saying life without Ilias or a goddess at all would be without all suffering, I never did imply that. We, as humans have just as much as a chance of leading ourselves to ruin, as we do at heading towards the path of enlightenment. But that is what I find... the most enjoyable choice."

"What is this 'enjoyable choice'?"

"An outcome that is unable to be predicted, one that has not been already set in stone, one that doesn't have puppet strings all over, regardless of whether or not it is the best for human survival." _I mean, If I was really being honest, I could care less if free choices led to humans dying out or not. As long as us humans make the choice, the decision ourselves, even becoming extinct is something I'll be satisfied with._ "I wish for an outcome _we_ had a factor in choosing, rather than it be just because some god, goddess or whatever just decided one day, 'Hey, I want these humans to do this, to do that'. I don't hate _all_ powerful beings, just the ones who decide that leading humanity away from an uncertain path for their own purposes... such as Ilias."

"Then what would you do is Ilias were to stay out of human matters as you wanted? Would you worship her then, revel in her great glory?" He hummed, clearly thinking over his next words. "Actually, would you even worship _any_ 'goddess' that vowed to stay out of human matters?"

"No. There is no such thing as a goddess or anyone, _anything_ calling themselves a god for that manner that would leave humans alone to their own devices. That would be a contradiction of the definition of a god. I mean, if Ilias didn't seem to be leading humanity on a vague trail, well... there wouldn't be too much of a problem to be found; I mean, look at the monsters! Sure you guys may hate them and all, but from what I can see, they're not trying to alter humanity's course artificially. Unlike Ilias."

Lupton laughed, dry humor as its tone. "So what do you want that our great and wonderful Ilias can't give you? This unplanned 'outcome' that you speak of?"

"I just want what's best for humanity." Maxwell rose his hand, grasped at empty air. "Regardless whether this if this 'best' leads humanity to ruin, or to glory. I've always heard that humans are destined to lead themselves into extinction," he squeezed his fist, cracked a few knuckles, "And I've always wanted to know if that is our _true_ route."

 _And causing disturbances in this world that mess with vague preset plans is a great way to do that. Big disturbances always equal, ruined mysterious plans._ He opened his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. "Plus, I've always wanted to punch a god."

Lupton either didn't hear him or was too winded up to care. He didn't respond, and began to settle in his own bed.

Maxwell knew that he should be thinking some deep philosophical shit over what had been just said, but that could be left for another Maxwell.

Like morning Maxwell.

He let his thoughts wonder while he lied in bed. _And here starts my favorite part of the night, sleep... and now that I think about, just how overpowered is that Oswell kid now? Man's probably got that ultra-instinct light mode shit all prepared by now... just thi...nking bout it... pissing me off... Zzzzzzzz..._

* * *

"Achoo!"

Alice frowned, looking over Luka. "I hope you haven't caught a sickness on me. A sick chef is a chef that isn't preparing quality meals for a traveling gourmet like me to eat." The displeasure in her tone wasn't missed by Luka.

"I'm fine Alice, I just got the feeling someone has been talking about me lately." Despite his words, Luka sniffed and rubbed his nose with much vigor. "Perhaps my achievements as a hero are being passed along like storytales!"

"I doubt that a _fake_ hero of all things would have people spreading stories about him around." Alice didn't seem too enthusiastic about the topic, considering the fact that it was his decision to head back to San Ilia.

And of course, as with all things, it started as a what seemed like a rather innocent question.

 **Flashing back through Time~!**

"Hey, Alice? Do you mind if we took a sort-of detour before we head into the Noah region?"

The lamia in question raised an eyebrow, along with the tip of her tail. "A 'sort-of detour'? I'm pretty sure you just call them detours. And more importantly, what is it that is so significant, that it would slow down your quest to obtain all the four spirits, which are necessary for you to gain enough power to call yourself a hero?"

"You remember those merchants we passed a few weeks ago?"

"A noisy bunch they were, ruining the peace and quiet that should always accompany a meal. And to think they would try to take _my_ servings as well!" Both chastising and complaining about the merchants, she snagged a bag of snacks from Luka's pack. "What about them?"

It was then that Luka wondered how much of Alice's thoughts were focused on food. He shook his before he could get too focused on the topic. That would be a question for him to solve another day. "Did you remember what they were saying about San Ilia?"

She groaned. "You expect me - a monster lord - to remember what some food snatching thieves said about Ilias' grand worship center?"

 _In their defense, I did try to make enough for a whole group… Luka didn't dare voice out his thoughts, as he feared what would happen to him in turn._ It was a strange thought to have about someone who should be an ally, but the Monster Lord was far from any normal adventuring companion.

Feelings aside, he sighed and turned to face Alice. "Well, I remember them talking about seeing monsters in San Ilia."

"Monsters. In San Ilia, the city of the ones where those who can't shut up about Ilias go to blab on and on about her?" Alice gave him a deadpanned look, then stuffed more food in her mouth. "Are you ok in the head? I think someone's been using some strange magic on you."

"Uh Alice, I don't think there has been anyone using mind magic on me lately." Luka nervously chuckled. "I'm sure one of the spirits would let me know if that was happening to me."

 _'Everything's_ _all A-Okay in here Luka! No one - including those merchants - have attempted to attack you from here! But even if that was happening, you'd barely feel a thing! With me and Gnomey's perfect and impenetrable defense, there is nothing that can get u- Hey! Gnomey, lemme go! Why are your dolls carrying me away, we gotta reassure Lukaaaaaaa~!'_

Then came the familiar feeling - that Luka was sure shouldn't be a familiar feeling - of a rather Earth spirit slapping, a rather talkative Wind spirit up into the upper reaches of his mind.

 _'...'_

Gnome seemed satisfied by this action. She bent down and began to sculpture the 'dirt' that laid on the ground into a humanoid figure.

Luka shook his head. _That_ was just too much for someone that was just attempting to spread coexistence to be thinking about. Maybe he'd ask Alice about it at a later tim-

He winced at the sudden prick of pain on his face, and rose his hands to ward off the attacker. He was rewarded with a bored sigh. "Oi oi, Alice! What did you do that for?"

"You weren't responding so I thought I'd increase your focus a bit."

"Still... Alice, I'm sure that a simple hello would work for me. Or a _light_ tap on the back." He hoped Alice understood the emphasizing; if she kept up her flicks, he'd sooner shatter his skull than bring coexistence to humans and monsters.

"...Hmph..." She shrugged, tearing into yet another bag of treats. The third, fifth, tenth one? He couldn't remember. Luka could see a trail of empty bags that led up to them from afar. Alice licked the crumbs of her lips in an overly exaggerated manner. "I don't see the problem; any one that calls themselves a hero and has gained the Wind Spirit Sylph, should at least have a passive barrier around them at all times. Looks like we'll have to fix up on that along with the _training_ I already had planned for you tonight."

Luka flushed, and bashfully direction his vision at a spot above Alice's head. The way she said the word, brought up memories of some rather unorthodox _training_ sessions. Not the sort of things a hero would usually be doing.

"Sure, sure Alice, we can do that, but I think we should try to take a detour to San Ilia before we fully make it into Noah. And from there into Undine's... lake? River?"

"Spring." Alice stared down at the crumbs on her hands. "But why? Because you overheard that there are now monsters living in San Ilia? Those merchants were probably playing a joke on you or the damned place got overran by monsters. Either way, it'd end up being a waste of your time. You're better off just getting the spirits as quick as possible."

"Maybe it would. But I just can't let this chance leave me. To see monsters and humans living close with one another." Luka suddenly remember similar story from a another country he had heard of. "Maybe it'll be like the stories I hear from Grangold?! Humans and monsters living in coexistence, with them working through their problems - the ones that usually cause them to fight one another - together."

Alice sighed. "I seriously doubt that is what is happening in Grangold, let alone San Ilia. And if you think that's the truth, then you're living in a fantasy. Not in reality."

"So what if what I believe in doesn't have a high chance of being real? So what if it's actually just the opposite?" Luka stopped to take a breath. "If there is a problem and things aren't as they say, I'll fix it! I'll solve all the problems there are, all the problems they have just as a hero should do!"

"What a hero shouldn't be doing is rushing off to solve the problems of humans who brought it upon themselves. But," Alice grinned and tossed another piece of food in her mouth, "Your stubbornness and refusal to see the world for what it truly is, will make it much more satisfying when I see you dreams of being a 'hero for coexistence' crushed. And on a situation you think to be all fine, no less."

Luka frowned. _Wanting me to have my 'dreams crushed'? Are you a masochis... Actually, I think I already know the answer._

"So, yes. I guess I'll be following you on your little detour to San Ilia. Just don't be surprised when things don't turn out the way they did in this 'perfect fantasy world' of yours."

Luka smiled, and began to fumble for his map. "Well Alice, I think we should take a right turn here..."

* * *

"This. This..." Alice didn't, she _couldn't_ comprehend what was happening before her eyes. "This..."

Luka nodded dumbly. The shock on his face wasn't missed.

Alice was unable to comprehend what was currently occurring before her eyes. Everything she'd seen, experienced on her journey as a traveling gourmet chef so far - the Sphinx, the bottom of the sea, even seeing someone as weak-looking as Luka gaining the power of two elemental spirits - it all paled in comparison to what she was seeing now.

It was infuriating, madness even. Not enough to make her drop her annoying human disguise, but enough to stop her from stealing another bag of snacks from Luka's bag.

Either she was going mad, or there were Beast monsters working with humans to build a towering statue of Ilias in front of a chapel.

No, that definitely wasn't the case. She couldn't, she _wasn't_ going mad.

And so there went another bag of chips. Down her mouth, they went.

Alice looked forward again.

There were Beasts of all kinds - wolves, dogs, orcs, centaurs and even the occasional kitsune - working the help human builders raise the Ilias statue's right arm by a system of pulleys. However, despite their work being based on Ilias, - the stuck-up bitch who wished for monster genocide - none of the Beasts showed any signs of wanting to leave.

Alice read the expression on the face of a Wolf girl nearby. Happiness, cheerfulness. Bordering on the edge of glee, even.

If that wasn't strange enough, as she and Luka walked the streets of San Ilia, the same expression of determination could be seen on the face of nearly every single Beast she came into contact with.

Was she a naive little monster, she would've taken that at face value. But she was a Monster Lord. The glee-filled faces couldn't hide the slight downward drop at the corners of their mouths. A mask that refused to break.

 _Tch._ She didn't want to admit it, but it was probably for the better good (of monsters) that she had given in to Luka's request to deviate from their set path and make way to San Ilia. _Now if only Luka could see things these ways._

"Alice, those merchants were right about there being monsters in San Ilia. And they aren't attacking the people. The people also seem not to be attacking the monsters," Luka observed as he stared at a priest being trailed by two Wolf girls clad in rags. "But don't monsters dislike Ilias?"

 _He's actually using his brain._ "Most, if not all. I don't know every single monster."

"Then how did the priests convert them to the side of Ilias so quickly? If they used this same method where monsters and humans have problems living together, coexistence may just be achievable! And under Ilias guidance, as well!" Luka scratched his head. "Although, I think it's strange that the monsters aren't really saying anything."

 _Naive_. It was annoying trait, one that seemed to always stick with Luka. At least he was breaking out of that, otherwise she wouldn't be able to bear it. "Of course there's something wrong happening here. I've met a few Beasts before, and the one's I know were not Ilias worshipers in the slightest. It would take much longer than... a month, two months to convert them. Do you honestly believe that they have gone over to the side of Ilias so quickly?"

Luka opened his mouth, then closed it. When he finally found the words to say, he spoke, "I guess it does look a little strange-"

"A little?"

"-So I guess we could ask someone about what did happen here and why there are monsters walking without any problems here," Luka ended without missing a beat.

Alice nodded. "Good, how about that background guy over there." She pointed towards a burly man who was overseeing a centaur and orc pulling a cart filled with stone in the distance. If anyone were to know what freak show she had gotten into, it would probably be one of the overseers.

Luka sighed. "You shouldn't call them 'background' people, Alice. It's kind of rude."

"Telling the truth isn't rude."

She let Luka take the lead as they headed to the overseer. The boy, he was small, had the basic heroic mentality along with the naive, positive mindset that seemed to be prevalent in such people. Someone who wanted to bring monsters and humans together into one, and under a bitch like Ilias, less. Maybe it came from the way he was raise, that of which she'd been told that his village originally shunned him and his mother as they were Outsiders.

Yes, it was definitely the treatment as an outsider that made him into the 'hero for coexistence' he currently was. He probably did not wish for that treatment to be put upon anyone else. And seeing as monsters were seen as outsiders by humans and vice versa, Luka probably would've ended up as a traveling hero, even without her assistance.

That was incorrect, putting too much faith into the gullible hero that is. Luka would've already been a monster's playtoy by now if it wasn't for her coming. And that wasn't bragging or showing off a massive ego - which, as the Monster Lord, is practically allowed - it was a fact.

Too naive, too gullible. Both were traits that hindered his ability to see the world for what it truly was, a place where coexistence had a near zero percent chance of occurring.

His largest and truest flaw, was his eternal self-delusion that humans and monsters could be together _under_ Ilias. Humans, on one hand. worshiped Ilias and her lovely book of 'How to Genocide Monsters, for Humans'. And in the other hand, monsters had to defend themselves against 'heroes' who set out to commit monster genocide for the bitch with a stick up her ass, and through that most had grown to dislike humans as anything other than reproduction and sex relief.

She'd _seen_ personally, that humans and monsters were realistically not going to end up side by side. Even without Ilias, there were still too many problems that cropped up.

Then why did she follow Luka? Why did she? Was it because she wanted to see him fail? See him fall into despair when he found that his dream could never be fulfilled? His cute expressions? His high quality seed? Or maybe it was the food she had on that first day, when she stopped him from getting a 'blessing'?

Yep, it was definitely the food. Nothing else.

"You see, me and my traveling partner wanted to ask you something." Luka was already talking to the overseer and had engaged conversation with him.

The overseer looked down, subtle annoyance reflected in his eyes. "Is it about the monsters?"

A nod.

"Figures. It's all the newcomers want to ask about. What's with all the fuckin' monsters? Why are they in our holy city? Why the hell are you Ilias worshipers not killing all the damned monsters?" He misinterpreted Luka's annoyed expression and lightly chuckled. "I mean, hell, I don't even know where all these monsters came from. They just showed up one day-"

"'They just showed up'?" Alice cut in. "Do you honestly believe anyone would fall for that? Monsters, showing up randomly- and in San Ilias of all places!"

"Hey hey, I'm being serious, lady." He held his hands out in front of himself. "They weren't here one day, then they were here the next. Overnight practically, the lot of them monsters docile like pets. The freaky smiles are just... ugh."

Alice gritted her teeth, restrained the sudden urge to spill the contents of his guts over the road and laugh at him maniacally. Calling monsters - and by extension _her_ \- a pet, was by any right hypocrisy, if one considered how much feet licking humans gave Ilias. But mostly, it was just plain rude.

The overseer suddenly glanced left to right, then lowered his head to Luka's level, along with his voice. "If anyone asks, you didn't hear this from me, but I know a guy, who overheard something about some priests, talking about using some kind of weird magic on the damned beasts. Some folks might go shit crazy over it, but I can't say I'm upset about it. Them monsters can do jobs that usually takes us months in less than half the time, and they _don't_ complain every few minutes about some issue that props up. And I sure as hell am not about to complain about an easier workload." He stood back up to his full height and walked back to his post, barking orders to monsters as he did so.

Luka stared up at the sky. "So that's how things are like?" It was more of a statement, an assessment of the situation, rather than a question.

"It appears so," Alice said once the overseer was out of hearing range. She formed a fist. "Now what will you do, _hero_? We are here because of you after all, even though I'd rather just destroy this entire city."

"Well, first Alice, I don't think destroying Ilias' city of worship is going to solve things-"

"Says you," she interrupted, huffing.

"And this isn't right either. There may not be any fighting here between monsters and humans, but pushing all the work unto monsters- that isn't the coexistence I want. It, turning the monsters into 'this'-" Luka paused, scratching the side of his head awkwardly. "Just isn't the right way to bring peace between humans and monsters."

Alice grinned ear to ear and walked over to a statue of Ilias. She pointed at Luka and said, "So now the slave who was previously advocating for such practices, has become slightly less foolish and has now turned against..." she pointed at the Ilias statue. "His master."

"You're wrong Alice. I-I haven't turned against Ilias, I'm just not agreeing with the way peace has been brought here," he said, looking into a shop where a wolf girl was standing at the counter, while the owner was reading a book whilst he sat on a chair, "And I'm sure Ilias would be displeased by seeing monsters in her Holy City."

"I think it'd be the opposite, and seeing as her 'holy' books talk about how much monsters need to be exterminated, I'd imagine she'd enjoy seeing them all pacified here."

Luka cringed. "Well, I don't think that would correct..."

"I'd say it is correct, but I'm more curious on the state of this city right now." Alice turned her head to see beast monsters working on the construction of a house. She began to walk and Luka followed after her. "Exactly how did humans manage to bring Beasts down to this state? And in such little time, no less?"

"A fight?" He offered.

"Do you see any signs of a struggle? Any burning buildings, hear rumors of fighting coming from here." A shake of the head. No _._ "And plus, you heard what the overseer said, 'the Beast monsters appeared here practically overnight'. San Ilia - any country that is - would need more than a single month to successfully fight and take all of these Beasts prisoner."

"How about magic?"

She didn't reply. She studied him instead.

"I'm not really good with magic, but I do know that there is magic capable of taking control of people's minds. You did it the last time we were here. When you, broke the King, and the library... burnt... down." His tone went somber towards the end of his sentence.

"It's not my fault this Ilias King on Earth doesn't have a strong mind. And no, I can't sense any magic being used on these monsters, the only mana that's being used by them or near them is coming from the kitsunes." And that was a rather concerning fact.

As the one who reigned over all monsters - the Monster Lord -, her ability to sense mana in the air being used was greater than most, if not all other beings that lived in the world. In any regular situation, Luka's guess would've been more than correct and her questions would've just ended there.

However, it _wasn't_ a normal situation, as she couldn't sense any mana being used.

A lie. That last statement wasn't directly true, as she could still sense mana from the few humans capable of utilizing it, and from various kitsunes around the city. She got rid of the idea that there was a mana-hiding spell in use.

Not that such a spell created by humans would be any use against a Monster Lord.

"Then what could it be...?"

Luka looked towards her, then shook his head. He stopped walking. "Alice, I think I'm going to refill on our snacks here... since you nearly ate all of them. Luckily, the King gave us more than enough gold to deal with this." He didn't wait for a reply, turned and entered a store where a kitsune was standing at the counter.

She gave a little nod, then went back to thinking. She broke into a slow walk, then frowned. No magic was involved in the monster indoctrination of San Ilia. Such thoughts were impractical, and unheard of aside from a few rumors here and there. Humans managing to influence the mind of a monster without magic. It reminded her of a human capable of doing magic-like feats, just without the needed resources to do such things.

Such as mana. And as such, not using magic at all.

 _Maxwell? Ah yes, him._ She remembered how he kept creeping around any questions she had. Vague explanations, use of wind currents, mana-less magic. Lies. She never did call him out for it, as they weren't exactly a bother to her nor was it bothering Luka.

That was not the case now. It raised suspicion, and other beliefs. Humans capable of influencing the outsider world without magic? Able to fight without being burdened by their low mana reserves? She didn't want to think about the possibility of such an event. And those possibilities had to be low; Maxwell was the first _and_ only human she met using such a phenomenon.

And as such, she'd assume it would remain that way. Maxwell didn't give off the impression of being the type to go around slaughter countless monsters, and she was sure he didn't worship Ilias. And even if he was, she would've snuffed him out the moment he was within range.

She sniffed. He wasn't in range.

Unfortunately, with that new revelation, she found herself back at ground zero. Lost in her thoughts, she nearly ran into a person whilst turning the corner.

Alice stopped on the point. She noticed that the person did the same.

The woman was dressed rather plainly, her lower body clothed with grey pants, a buttoned-up white shirt on her upper body with a maroon jacket sliding off her shoulders. Her most striking features was the streak of yellow in her bright red hair and the orange string tied around her neck.

"My apologies, I must've not been paying attention to where I was going!" She slightly bowed. "I Must have been lost in my train of thought."

"It's fine. Just make sure you focus on what's in front of you next time." The fact that Alice was guilty of the exact same thing went unsaid by both parties.

The woman didn't seem to notice, or didn't care. She nodded almost mechanically. "I will be sure to do that 'next time'." She turned a corner and disappeared from view.

Alice noted how the red-haired woman was to stop her momentum, and at the same time, with similar speed as her, no less. Definitely not a low-laying background character. Being able to sense beings without sight was a skill to be wary off.

Figures. She was left with lesser, yet more questions than she had started with. Definitely, not an improvement in any way.

Her stomach growled. "Maybe it's time for some more food." Food always help her think better, and Luka should be done shopping for snacks by now. She started back towards his position.

The questions, the mystery. They didn't go away. But they were less demanding, less important from the soon to be demolished snacks.


	24. Unexpected Happenings

**Hello viewers,**

 **I am writing this as an apology for my extended absence. I know you lot have expected me to write more chapters over this time, but I haven't. I just was silent, without even leaving an authors note on the subject. I am sorry, but my attention from writing have been taken away by some more annoying, yet** **prevalent** **issues.**

 _ **Real** **life.**_

 **For the duration of my absence, I've been bombarded with work. Busy work, large scale projects, community service, but just plain work. Over these months have been pushing myself through it all, making sure to write little-by-little whenever I had the free time to do so.**

 **What I can hope for, is that you don't see this as something to be expected from me constantly time and time again. Now, as I am able to write with wriggle-room again, I can continue to churn out chapters for you to enjoy.**

 **And without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Maxwell scowled as he bumped into another person.

It was approximately ten-thirty in the morning in Succubus Village. A normal day by any definition in an obvious Earth ripoff. Where the hell were the Succubi?

There had been people, for sure. The odd group of adventurers to invite him along as he neared closer to the village, another to see him pass into the village. Still, the paths were filled with people moving in a rush, the men who were in the area dispersing themselves throughout the village. Not for the first time, Maxwell wondered if he the people he talked to were just giving out shitty directions.

Then there was the added fact that there were more women than there were men, and according to several residents he had spoken with, it had been that way the entire time. All without the sightings of a succubus. Shit was not adding up.

 _There has to some kind of leader here._ He turned to see a building larger than the ones around it. It was also in the middle of the village. Protection, defense? It didn't matter. It was a building that had the highest chance of holding some kind of authority within it.

And with it, there came a higher chance of finding Alma Elma as well.

He broke into a quick stride, hurrying down the road.

"Hey, watch it!"

Maxwell turned his head, even as he moved. "I am watching _it,_ mate. Just not watching you."

He reached an intersection and felt his hair stir up, a little more than what could be excusable as the wind that day. He took that as a cue that he was getting closer to his target. At least he knew where he was going now, not that it would take much to convince him otherwise.

He had a map, but no clues, no detectives and the only clear path was one that was more than less then clear. No one couldn't blame him for such an uncertain outcome coming into play.

Finding a live Succubus in the not-so subtly named 'Succubus Village' should've been as easy as finding animals at a zoo. The fact that it wasn't did not bring any comforting thoughts along with it. Things... were definitely going to get a lot more tougher, with added vagueness as well.

And when that happened, he would need to get a better map. One better than a teacher's edition. _That's not gonna be easy. Them teacher's editions be top of the line._ That and a haircut. If those were possible.

In the meantime, he'd let things carry on like they were. He'd continue his travels through the world - maybe find a companion or two - and through that, he'd be able to complete his final objective, to bring a new age into existence.

As he came to his destination, the sound of murmuring reached his ears. Weapon management, defense patterns, positioning. Irrelevant to him. The center building sat a few away from him, and there were a few people milling around in front of it. Wooden stairs led up to two large wooden doors.

He passed the group and headed straight for the front door. As he reached for the handle, the doors suddenly opened up, and he stepped to the side.

"Looks like we got the long end on that deal, eh?"

His partner nudged him. "Your jokes are still shitty as always, Francis. 'Long End, my ass, aren't they just pushing all the night work unto us. Fuck, not going to have any more time to myself with the shit they're pulling."

"Hey, we are getting paid for this, right? Might as well make time for that during the day."

A sigh. "You wouldn- no, you couldn't, you _can't_ understand."

 _Sounds like they are some fine lads. Maybe they'd be interested in a long game of inter-dimensional tic-tac-toe._

The interior of the building wasn't filled with people, and those that were present, five or so, were almost hyper in their activity. All women, they rushed one side of the room to another, shuffling papers to each and every corner of the room. Only one person was more or less alert as Maxwell approached. The woman standing behind the desk.

Again, no succubi in sight. Were they in disguise, in hiding, perhaps? Such thoughts weren't so far-fetched. The Monster Lord herself did the same thing. Well, it wasn't important _now,_ not when he'd be able to meet the one in chief in a short while.

"Greetings, how shall I help you today?" She said in a cheerful voice. The receptionist, dirty blonde, wore a blue and white dress, with pink streaks that ran through her hair.

Maxwell caught the briefest flash of a rather familiar feeling on the face of the receptionist as she turned to look at him. Annoyance. Had he still been working as social servant, he would've offered to take over. Dealing with many citizens, or rather _idiots_ in a short span of time tended to put quite a toll on most people.

However, he wasn't on the job, not for several months that was. And as such, he had the 'customer is always right' status on his side. Still, he gave her a little, subtle nod. Whether she noticed it or not, that went unknown.

Maxwell sighed. "I'm looking for the Chief-"

"Go back, take a right, then walk five paces, take a left, then a right, walk three paces, look your right. She'll be there." She listed off the directions without so much as a pause. He didn't remember seeing her breath in for her ramble either.

"Go back, take a wha- wha- wha- what?" He rubbed his head. "Can you say that again, but so normal peeps like me can understand. Like slooooower... much slower."

The receptionist frowned, began to reiterate what she said before. "Go back. Take a right. Walk five paces. Take a left. Take a right. Walk three paces. Turn right. Look to your right."

"Down, righty-tighty, five bases, left, right, three bases, right, home-run on right." He listed off the directions on his hands. "I got it?"

"I said paces, not _bases_."

He shrugged. "Different strokes for different folks. Anyway, I gotta go like a kid in Math class, so thanks for the directions, Mappie-"

"Mappie?!"

"And we're out." Maxwell turned and exited through the door at the end of the back hallway. As the door closed shut behind him, he rushed forward, repeating the directions to himself over and over in his head.

* * *

It turned out that the receptionist was wrong. His stop was on his left. His still ringing ears confirmed that. He could practically still hear the old man's lecture. Something about war, Ilias, and whatnot.

He stopped his hand about an inch above the wood, drew his hand back, then opened the door widely in one swift motion. "Phew, just about knocked on that door." He stepped in.

It was apparent the house belonged to the Village Chief the moment he walked in. The front room had a dull red carpet built into its floor that lead to opposing sides of the room. One side was cluttered with papers, artworks, a bookshelf overflowing with books and a staircase that lead upwards. Maxwell could make out the words 'patrol' and 'purple sabbath' on some papers. The most instigating artwork was a clear Mona Lisa lookalike, with some kind of monster instead of a human.

That was concerning, to say the least.

The other side of the room was nowhere as messy. A single brown book sat atop a smooth oak table. There was a couch, a nice chocolate brown. Maxwell took a seat on it, swatted it before hand for insects and dust. Termites loved wooden objects like people liked consumable objects. Customers did not like termites.

The resident of the home stood at the bottom of the stairs, lifted eyebrow and questioning gaze. She had light-green hair, the sort of green that one would expect to only work within an animation. A green dress that ran down to her ankles served as the majority of her clothing, along with a beige bonnet, and hoodwear. Her looks alone would definitely make her the talk of any conversation she got into.

"So," he paused, took a bite out of the fruit in his hands. The superior plantain, "I got a few questions that I absolutely need answered, for the chief. You are the chief, right? Or did I end up with another receptionist?"

"No, you are correct, I am the Chief of this Village. But I'd like to ask why are you sitting on _my_ couch, and eating like you own the place?"

"Your door was unlocked, and I needed to really cool myself down before I blew my top. Things just don't appear to be what they seem 'round here. Like the lack of _succubi_ in Succubus Village."

A sigh, not of annoyance, but of... pleasure? "Are you one of those perverts who came here looking to be attacked by succubi and sent to heaven?"

He frowned. "Perverts attacked... by succubi? The- Most of them, don't have strength stats. I do not comprehend."

"An adventurer who does not know of the purple sabbath?" She approached the oak table and sat one of the chairs beside it. "Every one-hundred years, succubi tend to attack... five, six days from now, seeing as their magic is at their greatest during the purple moon."

"So what you are saying is that this village doesn't have any succubi in it?"

"No."

"Fuck!" he swore, as pulled at the individual threads of the plantain skin. He threw it to the ground, muscles tensed with barely contained rage. No, not rage. It was glee, exhilarating, even. Not that either, he was still mad, infuriated. A mix of the two?

"What's got you so bothered, pervert?"

He laughed dryly, attempted to wave off his previous words. "Ah it's nothing, I'd been hoping to run into an old succubus I'd ran into a while back. Reminds me of myself, quite a bit. _Alma Elma_. I've been looking to have a nice chat, fight, maybe something in between with her."

"The so called, Heavenly Knight of the Wind? Why would you need her?" A 'tch'. It was quiet enough that had he not been looking for a reaction, he wouldn't have heard it.

Maxwell leaped unto the table, grabbed her by the throat with his right hand, and pulled her out of the chair. He shoved her to the ground and climbed atop of her so he was straddling her, his knees pressing her arms down. He switched hands, the left one now on her throat and his right edging towards his pocket.

The Chief's eyes widened and her face began to turn pale as she struggled. She brought a foot up into his back. If she truly was the frail young woman she appeared to be, nothing would've changed. The effect was Maxwell flying into the air, his grip on her released.

"You know who she is," he told her. He turned his body, angled it to get the spin he needed. He landed on all fours, bent forward. He grinned. "And as the mayor of this Succubus Village, you should know of her whereabouts, right?"

She stood up.

She frowned, looked down at him. "I wouldn't. It's not like Alma Elma to check in on us- I mean Succubi, let alone lead this village."

"Sounds like bullshit. I'm pretty sure she's the 'Succubus Queen'." He rose back to his feet.

"She is, but she doesn't actually enforce her position as the queen of succubi. Sure she has some of the best pleasuring skills out of all succubi, but that doesn't mean she's their 'leader'. She doesn't lead u- them at all, but to be honest, it doesn't seem like she even cares about her species. Just going around doing what she wants. That's what you wanted yes?"

"No." Maxwell shook his head. He felt so lost, so tired, so _unsatisfied_. There was one pesky thing he wished to eliminate, talk with, maybe. The who resembled him in too many ways. Alma Elma. She wasn't in the city she was supposed to be in. 'Doing her own thing' without regard for others needs? At the very least, they were similar in that aspect. "No, just tell me where she'd likely to be me."

"Well," she said. "That would be the Monster Lord's castle on Helldongo. As a Heavenly Knight, she might appear there. I'm pretty do have to report to the Monster Lord at some point."

He raised a hand, pointed towards a map. Specifically on a mountainous island. "She'll be there?"

"Maybe so, maybe not." She shrugged. "But why are you so curious about where the Succubus Queen is anyway? Do you happen to be one of those uber, stalker perverts? Or are you some kind of bounty hunter, another hero?"

"It's... personal. Very personal." Maxwell stepped towards the door. The Monster Lord's castle set in a place isolated from the majority of civilization. It was that same old cliche all over again. It made sense, but still.

The ringing in his ears intensified. When had that started? When he woke up into that dream world? When he arrived in the world?

He thought of the Succubus Queen, thought of her in the context of her being a parallel version of himself. A _very_ offset version of himself. Was that why the atmosphere felt so similar around her? It made sense... too much sense.

He internally shivered. _Him_ being related to _that Succubus_ in such a way, let alone any way? That was a scary thought.

The Chief outstretched an arm, blocked his path. "Where are you going?" She looked up into his eyes.

Maxwell looked down, then looked back up. "To find an old and familiar 'friend' of mine."

"You come into a house uninvited, attack me, the Chief of this Village, and expect to leave peacefully?"

"Of course, that's how things are nowadays. You hold no more use to me NPC, and as such there's no need for me to stay around you."

"You will not be getting away with attacking the authority of this village so easily." She trailed a finger down Maxwell's shirt, backed away. "I think I'll take you in, _educate_ you, myself."

"Oh?" Maxwell drawled out the word, mockingly. "You want a fight? I'm willing to leave peacefully, without causing anymore damage in this area- and that's practically a one in a lifetime offer coming from me. Nothing will leave this room, and that sounds like a great deal doesn't it?"

The Chief cupped her hands around her mouth, and yelled. "Help! I require assistance!"

Five people- adventurers, soldiers, whatever - burst into the room, door swinging open. Confused and alarmed, they looked back and forth between Maxwell and the Chief, before settling on the Chief.

 _These lads just so happened to be standing outside the door? Now that is what I call 'infinity bullshit'._ "Guess you can't see it."

One taller than the others stepped forward. "What's the problem here, Chief?"

She pointed at Maxwell. "This man just came in here and attacked me for no good reason."

"Hey, I had good reason!"

"Is that so, Chief?" A different one- black haired, shorter gave him a stink-eye. "What do you want us to do to him?"

"Bring him to the prisons. Keep him there for the meantime," she said. "With the Purple Sabbath on the horizon, we do not have the time to deal with people who are trying to cause distress among us."

"You hear her?" A blond hair guy said- more like _growled_ to him. He placed a hand on Maxwell's shoulder, while another did the same from the left. "You will be coming with us."

"Yes," Maxwell shrugged, lifted his arms. "I am literally shaking in terror right now, officer. Take me away."

The Chief looked surprised, as if she expected something different. "You gave up, just like that?"

He cringed. "I wouldn't call it 'giving up'. I still do get to leave. And there's no use in me trying to take on five armed guys by myself in an enclosed space either. Just isn't practical."

The tallest adventurer, the one who had a breastplate, simply raised an eyebrow. When no one else commented, he walked up to Maxwell. "You seem very calm for someone who is heading into our prisons right now."

Maxwell's eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. "It's good never to mess with authority. I respect the law, and those in charge with my very life," he lied.

"Bullshit," the black-haired one said. "If that were true you wouldn't be coming here and causing trouble among us. We already have enough trouble on our heads, having to deal with a succubus attack in about a week, and we don't need to have our fellow people cause problems for us either."

"What if I told you, I am willing to leave without any trouble, no issues. And to do some monster hunting of my own."

"So criminals should be exempt from the law, just because they are going to hunt monsters?"

"Of course," Maxwell answered, smiling. "Since these monsters are the ones who are putting down humans, according to the 'great' Ilias, wouldn't you need all the people you could get? You gotta crack a skull to see the brain matter."

He didn't get a response from him other than a disgusted scoff at his crude saying. The taller and blonde haired adventurers gripped their hands on his shoulders and walked, practically guiding him out of the house. The others, let their hands waver by their swords, showed they were prepared to cut him down at a moment's notice.

A nice gesture, but unnecessary. He didn't have the will, the need to attack them.

He just kept smiling.

* * *

"Man, there isn't even a proper working toilet in here. They were right when they said TV isn't reality." He grasped at the eroded iron bars, then turned, facing his cellmates. That wasn't right. They were separated by the bars that went up and down walls. "Isn't that just about right?"

"What the hell do you mean by 'TV'?" one of them asked- more like spatted out. She was a striking woman with cream colored skin cast to her features. And much like all the other prisoners, was wearing the gray cotton clothing that appeared to be mass produced.

The same couldn't be said for Maxwell. Even though his clothes probably stunk to high heaven, he refused to give up his lone connection to Earth. _His_ Earth.

Maxwell chuckled. "It's an inside joke between me and my buddies on the outside."

"Tell your buddies that they're a bunch of dumbasses." The comment came from a lean man that looked more teacher than prisoner. He gnawed on a hardened piece of bread, spilled crumbs over himself and the ridiculous top hat he wore. "You too, included."

Maxwell smiled bashfully, "Aww, shucks, thanks man. Really means a lot to me." He looked down, stared at the mucky mush in the bowl in front of him.

"That was not a compliment, greenie." The bread broke between Tophats's teeth.

"Greenie?"

"Greens, greenies. It's what we call the new meat that shows up every so often. And speaking of new meat, how the everlasting fuck did someone like you get in here?" The woman must've noticed Maxwell's wide-eyed look accompanied with a shrug, since she continued. "You're far too _fresh_. You don't have the scent of someone capable of being locked up in this joint."

He blinked innocently. Locked _up?_ That was an overstatement. They were just in a large stone building built in the middle of the village. Not to mention most of the bars appeared to have a bit of rust on them. He was even able to keep his clothes. At least, he had ropes tied on his wrists. The same couldn't be said for the others in the prison with him.

Hell, all they did with his stuff was shove it in some broom closet near the entrance.

No leader-types, none of the confusing hierarchies, drug deals between prisoners and guards. Nothing compared to the prisons back on _his_ Earth. Those had taken heaven and hell to break out of.

"So, what did you do get yourself in here? You probably tried robbing some 'poor' merchant, didn't you? Maybe you had a quick fuck with one of those monster freaks."

"Why don't we have chains? I mean, there is this rope, but still."

"Huh? That doesn't have anything to do wit-"

"Why don't we have chains," he repeated, not caring about the chance of offending her. "I'm really curious, you see. If we- Actually, since we are criminals, why are we left here uncuffed? Really, I had been expecting a lot more from jail. This might as well be house arrest. With a glorified prison, at that."

"Overheard one of the guards speaking to a superior. Apparently, they're going to send us off to be bait during the purple sabbath," she frowned. "No need for them to waste time putting us into chains when we'll be brought back out in another few days. But enough of that, why don't you tell us why you're the _only_ one here who's bound up?"

"Well, me and that Villager Chief were having a nice little chat. I asked questions, she answered them, y'know that sort of thing. It started when I asked her a simple question and didn't have it answered." He sighed, stared at their disbelief, as he scratched the skin underneath the rope. "Ok, I lied. I got an answer, just not the one I wanted. So, I um... strangled her! Just placed my hands around her neck and _squeezed._ "

The others in their cells clearly got the message; if not by his words, then by the way he clenched his hands around the rope.

There was silence. Maybe it was seconds, maybe it was minutes, hours, even. He didn't know how long he waited until someone spoke up.

"You attempted to kill the Village Chief," a prisoner, heavyweight started, "And got your ass thrown in here, because you didn't like the answers you were given?"

Maxwell wheeled on him, fists clenched. Useless intimidation, his hands were literally tied up. "Is that a problem?" he asked. The smile still remained on his face. Did he hold the highest charge in here?

"No. Just... surprised. That's all." He mumbled something intelligible under his breath.

Maxwell ignored that. "Good, good. I'd hate for there to be any troubles between us cellmates, especially since I'll be needing your cooperation. All of you. I don't feel like sticking around in here. Seeing the same brick walls everyday would get kind of repetitive, really."

"You- You're going to get out of here? Break out of here?" He took in a deep breath, before he began to laugh, along with the other prisoners. "Ha ha ha! Man, that's some of the funniest shit I've heard all week, Ilias damn know I needed that! Hell, we all needed that! Really fuckin' funny joke you got there, man."

"It's at times at this that I'd usually give thanks. But," the smile dropped from his face, "I am sorry to say this is no joke."

With that, Maxwell twisted his hands vertically, both appendages moving in opposing directions. There was a tug against his hands, resistance. Then there was none.

He flicked his arms and an arrangement of rope bindings dropped from his wrists to the ground. "Well then," a hint of a smile appeared on his face. The laughter stopped. "I think it's time for my big debut."

"How?"

"Hmm?" Maxwell turned his head, hands gripping the bars in front of him. Now that he had a closer look, he could see the accumulating rust, the darkened spots on the bars. He could only wonder how breakouts had never occurred. Before now, that was. "What do you mean?"

"Th- Those ropes! How did you rip through them? You don't look like the strength type of guy."

Sure, he wasn't the most muscular guy around, but weeks of adventuring through unknown lands bore their own rewards. "Things are not always what they appear to be," he answered.

Maxwell winded back his leg, and kicked the side of the bars with the sole of his shoe, pushing them outward. He kicked again, and again, until the bars were fully bent out of their hinges. Nothing was said, the sound of metal against stone filled the surrounding cells.

He gripped the spaces in between the bars and pushed outward, squeezed himself out through the gap he made for himself. Sometimes it paid to have a skinny statue. This was one of those times.

"Ahh man," Maxwell closed his hands into a fist, cracking his knuckles, "Sure is nice to be out of that ratty ol' thing. Now, I guess it's time to begin phase two, three? Hmm, guess the name really doesn't matter."

"Phase two?" the woman asked.

"Yes, miss..." He noted how she flinched when he stepped towards her cell. Reactions aside, he was getting tired of referring to her as 'the woman'.

"Nikos," she introduced herself.

"Well, Miss Nikos, you're seeing 'Phase two' right now." He stepped to the side, shifted his weight to a single foot, then kicked forward, pivoting with the added help of his rotation. The bar door fell in, a rather sizable dent marring its shape.

Maxwell waited a minute before speaking. "Are you just going to stand there gawking, or do I need to pull you out myself?"

The unspoken threat did not go unnoticed, as Nikos shuffled out of the new doorway in her cell and stood awkwardly by Maxwell, looking bewildered at the current state of affairs.

"I'm out..." she stared at her hands with nothing less than amazement. "A month in that Ilias to damned fuckin' cell, and I'm out. I'm out, I'm out..."

Not responding to her mantra, he moved to do the same with the other cells. Walk up, break open, usher out prisoner. He repeated the act six times until he could finally rest his legs. Having supernatural abilities did not automatically negate fatigue toxins. Usually.

 _I wish I had a cold Sprite right about now. Or an ice cold Coke. Probably going to get neither, now that's the problem with these backwards societies._

"Hey, greenie." Maxwell caught Tophat slightly flinching when he turned his head. He still held the ridiculously hard piece of bread in his hands. "If you were able to do all that, how the hell did you end up in here?"

He shrugged, slowly rising up on his feet. "It's much easier to get out of a pickle when people think you're a problem already nipped in the bud. Then again, now that I'm forcefully breaking out here, that'll cause them adventurers to be even more cautious around me. That throws that plan out the window; can't win them all."

"Sounds like you have experience dealing with this sort of thing."

"You could... call it that."

Adventurers. Now that was an issue he was concerned about, the lack of adventurers - or guards for that matter - rushing through the double doors and collectively whooping prisoner ass.

One might say he was just being paranoid. But despite what most would say, it paid to be paranoid, especially when you were surrounded by boss-level characters who held the capability of squeezing you into paste without much thought.

With a sigh, he clapped his hands, and walked up to the double doors at the end of the hallway. First on the order of things was getting his stuff back, which had unfortunately been manhandled from him by his 'escorts'. Luck - if he could call it that -, however was on his side, as he was fortunate enough to catch look at where his things had been stored.

A compartment in the head guard's desk. That was not going to be an easy retrieval. But that was a problem that could easily be triumphed over with the help of his new friends. Their own self-interests withholding.

"Look, I can appreciate the fact that you got us out of that dump, but I am not going to wait around for you to do your magic shit," the statement came from a woman with a mid-eastern cast to her skin and bobbed hair.

"My magic shit..?" _I guess to those inexperienced with the craft would think about that. But wouldn't that mean I have been surrounding myself with boss level characters this entire time?_ He sighed. _Man, I got to fix my priorities. Hang out with creatures weaker than me, or those that are on my side._

He stared at the group of prisoners huddled in front of the double doors. _And I got one of those objectives dealt with._

"Go ahead." Maxwell smiled, absently waving a hand towards the door. "It's not like I need you to leave this place. Any of you that is."

Giving him a frown at his little quip, she slowly pushed open the doors.

Much to the majority of the group's surprise, nothing happened. No guards bumrushing them, no sudden attack from above or below.

All in all, what Maxwell had expected to happen. If there was anyone guarding the hallway, they would've been on his ass the moment he began to break out of his cell. Subtlety nor silence was not his goal in breaking the cells open. That was to draw out anyone behind the door.

There would be no reason to leave prisoners to their own devices in a cell, albeit one of poor quality. No one was dumb enough to that to a potential murderer. However, that did not mean there weren't other methods of keeping people contained in a single place...

A click could be heard, as the woman stepped on a single tile. With no warning, parts of the wall slid down, and arrows flew out. The woman didn't even have a chance to react before she was skewered at a multitude of different angles.

All in the span of five seconds.

 _...Well, that just about confirms it,_ He thought, as he silently stared at the blood pooling around her body. A trail of blood slowly crept towards the double doors from the body of the deceased- No, that wasn't accurate. She was still alive, though unconscious, breaths near-silent and ragged. The arrows had pierced her lungs, just barely missing her vital organs. Drowning by blood filling up the lungs was not a death he'd want to experience.

The group of prisoners didn't seem to know how to react to seeing a fellow prisoner turned into a pincushion right before their eyes. Some of them turned their gazes away, while others frowned at the site. All in all, despite being apparent convicts, at their core, they were human. It made sense for them to be all the more paranoid at the thought of traps. The thought of death.

Maxwell did not hold any strong thoughts or feelings of regret for what happened to the woman. He had guessed there'd be traps up ahead, and now he knew that prediction was correct.

Did he kill the woman? Yes, he was responsible for her death, for it could've easily been prevented by him. And therein lied the question- Did he care about the fact? No, he didn't. But that didn't mean he was a person that got drunk off of killing people needlessly, a mad serial killer. And he had a good reason for letting the prisoner die; his own well being.

Was it heartless, cruel his fellow man? Yes, but Maxwell could not exactly fulfill his task, his will, his dream if he was dead. Such things were bound to happen when humans react on their own will, rather than those of others.

Maxwell broke away from his inner thoughts, and stepped up to the head of the group. By that point, the woman's breaths had ceased, marking her as fully dead.

"Well... I think it'd be better for us to take a different path out," Maxwell said after a couple minutes silence. He wasn't going to get out of the prison by staring at a human pincushion all day.

The one in the Top hat spoke. "...What different path? There is only one that leads out of this room. And if we take it, I'm sure we would die."

"Who said you have to only go for the defined paths?"

"What do yo-"

Maxwell was already moving, and struck out at the back wall with the sole of his foot. His ability spurred into action, and spiderweb cracks appeared on the wall. The number of cracks grew until a section of the wall crumbled in on itself. That what lied behind was a path that led to another part of the prison. More specifically, another hallway.

 _People can say what they want about abilities, but to those with more agility than strength, I can say they definitely pick up the load. A fuckton._

Maxwell turned to face the group, and jabbed a thumb at the currently broken wall behind him. "This is our new way out."

One of the prisoners, a light-skinned man stepped forward, fists clenched. "If you could do that, why didn't you do it from the beginning, instead of having her go out through those accursed doors? If you had, Mabel might've still been alive!"

"That would've required me to run the risk of bringing guards straight to our asses, and besides, I am not an omniscient being capable of seeing the future, or acting on such things." The thought of such an _existence_ nearly robbed Maxwell of his composure. No matter how small it may be. "Plus, you have no right or place to be judging me under the law. All of you, that is. You're convicts, prisoners, who've managed to find themselves as live bait thanks to your actions- Me as well. We're all the same, so there's no need for us to start playing the 'holier than thou game', right?"

Maxwell knew what he said could be considered 'heartless', but he paid no mind to that at the moment. There were other things to be focused on at the moment.

He did not wait for a proper response back, and walked up to the hole to the ground. A pause, then he bent down to all fours, the hole in the wall to small to be passed through in a standing position.

He pushed aside the debris and emerged on the other side, hands and knees covered in dust. Every escapee always had their hands and knees covered in one substance or another. That was both an essential and inescapable requirement of the trope.

 _Damp._ He could taste it, feel it. Water dripped down from above. Maxwell looked up. Water had collected on the ceiling like a puddle defying gravity, despite the lack on any water sources. Visible ones.

It could only be explained as luck, the fact that he did not end up bringing the ceiling down on himself when he was knocking down the wall. That would be something he'd be watching out for now. Placing faith in luck stats would - one way or another - lead to failure. Especially for his own.

Maxwell cracked his knuckles, and looked both ways. As a prisoner, he'd only saw the entrance, the hall into the cells and the He heard the others escaping behind him, the light murmurs and grumbles under their breaths.

He ignored it, and instead licked both sides of his right hand. He rose it. "Now, tell me how to get out. Will it be this way..." He extended his hand forward.

A brush of air touched the left side of his hand, chilled it slightly. Maxwell turned, and broke into a quick jog, hurrying down the hall. Despite all that had occurred, he knew why he had came to the Succubus Village in the first place; to find Alma Elma. To fight Alma Elma. To kill... he'd deal with that matter when he met her.

 _They haven't quieted down?_ He took a glance backwards. They were trailing behind. Slow, unsteady, unsure, but following him nonetheless. Strange, he could've sworn they would've gone their own way after his display from earlier.

But what he had forgotten - or chosen to ignore - was the fact that these were desperate people. _Lost_ people. More so in the physical sense than in the spiritual one.

Maxwell stepped over an uneven slab of tile. Even here, there were still traps set from the unsuspecting man, or escapee. That or the construction had just gone to shit in this particular section of the building.

Either way, he did not want to test the theory. It was not worth his life, nor dying for. There were other things, better things that could be paid with death.

"Found it."

Maxwell had found the broom closet from before, a sign above it labeling it as 'B-2'. _What happened to A-1? Did the run out of numbers?_ He moved the straw broom, sliding it to one side, and stepped into the closet.

His bag, hastily set on a shelf at the end of the closet, had been found.

And unfortunately, it stunk.

"Sweet mama! What the hell is that?!" He wrinkled his nose. Did he put some kind of deterrent inside? No, if he had something like that, he definitely would've remembered it. Anyways, the thought of him either buying or building such a thing did not register with his memories.

To Maxwell, the smell - however - it would appear to others - was nothing more than an irritation. Like a spicy feeling in his nose that brought him to the edge of a sneeze, but without the right fuel, the push to bring him over the edge.

He took the bag into both hands and opened it, slightly turning the opening away from him. And what waited for him inside, the cause of his nose irritation was...

"Ugh, my meat." His face twisted in disgust. No, not disgust- Displeasure. Maggots had not yet grown on the long-bad... chicken? Beef? He couldn't even remember what kind was on the kebab. "No matter, if I can't eat it, I _can't_ use it. Malicious uses, aside."

He threw the kebabs on the ground and picked up his bag. "Not even keeping possible weapons away from us criminals? What kind of preschool is this prison trying to emulate?"

Maxwell reached into his bag, grabbed a stylus, then jammed it into the back end of the closet and spun it in the same motion. A crack appeared in the wall. Floor to ceiling.

He blew his nose on his sleeve.

Another crack ran the wall, diagonal.

He wiped his sleeve against the edge of the door.

At the third crack, the wall gave out and fell out into the opening provided, slamming against the ground. He leaped into the abyss, and landed on the ground in a crouch.

To his surprise, there was nobody standing in his immediate vision.

But that did not mean there weren't people outside his view. He looked around, but he heard it first. Two yells, one feminine, the other masculine. Both confused. Both _mad_.

The sounds came from two figures, standing on a balcony extending from the prison building. He blinked, the setting sunlight in his eyes making it hard for him to see their exact form.

Maxwell ducked under one of them fallen pieces of stone, when saw their heads turn towards him. There would be no more chances to stay hidden. Not here, now that they had surely seen the new 'escape route'.

"Sir, sir!" A man in leather ran up to the corner around the bend. He was panting, an indicator that he had been running all the way to the clearing.

A large man coated in green flew out of a door to the left. The two on the balcony looked down as well.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Those prisoners, they escaped! We managed to catch one of them in a trap, but she's um... well, dead. The others however are still alive and are making their way to the entrance."

The officer in green sighed and rubbed his temple with a free hand. "So, Jin. The prisoners are breaking out, and your first idea is to _not_ do anything to stop them?!"

"B-Bu-"

"Silence. There will be a demotion at hand when I have the time to issue one. We have monsters coming in by the end of the week. This incompetence could cost us all in the battlefield."

 _Incompetence. Heh,_ Maxwell chuckled as he snaked around the various debris. In just a few more feet, he'd need to move - dart really - out into the streets. He was running out of rock to hide behind. He would bring down more debris next time.

"Um, sorry to interrupt you, sir," 'Jin' pointed towards the fallen wall, "But I think I just saw something moving by those rocks."

"So, one of the escapees," the officer in green murmured. He turned, glared with narrowed eyes. His hand drifted towards the handle of the sword sheathed at his side. "Please, reveal yourself."

Not a request.

An order.

"Shit." _I thought they were too busy being incompetent!_

Maxwell crouched, place a hand to the ground, and let his power fume beneath his feet. A moment later he rushed forward in a sprint, and the ground blew upwards in his wake, spilling dust over his figure.

"You little..."

It was rather rash, but efficient for covering his positioning. Now, all he had to do was not get hit by any of the falling debris-

A flash of metal through the smoke.

Maxwell ducked, turned as the sword passed by him to the left, a five-foot long beast of a weapon. It embedded itself in the wall and he leaped over it as not to clothesline himself.

"I missed," the officer in green deadpanned, as if he were talking about the weather.

 _Insane. It must've been magic._ It couldn't be explained any other way. How many middle aged men could there be going around throwing five-foot long decapitation devices? He had to say, not many, if not none.

He winced, touching his neck. A cut?

Maxwell lowered his hand, the smell of rust becoming stronger in the air. Blood.

 _So I did get cut. A little too close to death, that was._ It was too much to wish for complete avoidance of the blade. He traced the outline of the cut with two fingers. _Shit, that's gonna leave a scar._

It looked like he was home free, now that the officer had thrown his only sword at him. And they had other things to be worrying about, not just him.

At that moment, a loud scream erupted from the building's interior. _That must be the others. Wonder who's winning there._ Something told him that it would not be the prisoners coming out on top. The lack of weapons, maybe.

"Ugh! Ilias damn it, Ilias damn it all! You two," The Officer barked. "Flank those dogs trying to get out of their cages. You Jin, you're with me."

"What about that Safinian-"

"It is but one prisoner. I will not waste my time chasing down a potential lost, when there are others guaranteed to be recaptured. If he still remains in this village afterward, I will hunt him down then. Not now, understood."

"Understood. Sir."

Good, they were giving up on him. Thank luck for meatshields.

Maxwell swung his arms, then leaped, landing on a wooden crate. He did it again, and this time the platform he stood on was just at the edge of the roof. He stepped over unto the rooftop, then broke into a run.

There was nothing left for him at Succubus Village. He had gotten unfair imprisonment. No succubi, no Alma Elma.

He leaped unto the roof of another building, rolled to break his fall.

He looked up towards the sky. The setting Sun casted a orange-purple across the sky, marking the end of day, the start of night. Had he really spent a day in the village? _Time sure passed quickly._

Maxwell felt something twitch in his legs, a longing feeling, hopeful.

"Where am I going to go after I leave this dump? Heaven? No, can't stand up to 'Gods' as I am now, no matter how much I dislike them. I need a a God-killing technique, something capable of harming them. A fatal weakness. An Achilles heel."

Down below, screams could be heard. Of surprise, of anger, of eagerness. What ever reason, Maxwell tore his eyes away from the scene. He could keep watching, but his needs were better met elsewhere.

The sooner he left the Village, the better.

He set his foot on one rooftop that held poorer construction from the others, and the fall was a quick one. First his feet touched stone, then the wood beneath that stone, then, the air.

Maxwell felt the air escape his lungs as he came to a sudden descent. He pressed his hands down, and began to spin the air beneath him, simulating lift, pseudo-lift.

He panted as he waddled out to the near fringes of the Village. The commotion had awakened some of the locals, getting them out of their sleep, and out of their houses. They broke out into hushed murmurs and not-so hushed murmuring.

They might've said some interesting things, but he didn't hear it.

Maxwell slowed to a walk as he inspected his new surroundings. The lake glowed with a hint of moonlight, a stark contrast to the shadowed-over trees around it.

A bastion of light in the darkness.

"You, human." The words came out familiar, seductive, even.

Alma Elma emerged, looking smug. She had a hand holding her side, her left arm hanging uselessly on the other. Her shirt was still unbuttoned, showing a body that could make a whore blush. Her skin was pale, perfect with no blemish. Strands of light purple hair fell across widened eyes.

Maxwell had gotten to meet _her_ , the reason he had came.

Now what?

He could feel himself breaking out a grin that threatened to split his face. Yes, he was excited, ecstatic. It would be a lie to say otherwise. He had been waiting for this moment.

"Yes, I am human," he said, fighting back a giggle.

Alma let her tail swing idly at waist level, pointed off to one side. Mucus dripped from it in a timely manner, and the smell was pungent enough to be detected from a distance. That was not sexy at all.

"We meet again, from our little dance on the ship, to this moonlit lake. Are you going to take out those little toys of yours and use them on me?"

Maxwell glanced down at his pockets, then looked back up. "Perhaps. But for now, I want to walk the talk," he answered, smiling.

"Walk the talk?"

Maxwell began to pace around her bent forward, arms behind his back. "Yep. Just as they say, walk the talk, talk," he paused, took a step back to her side, "the walk."

He let his right foot swing forward, aiming for her face. Reinforced, but stabilized by his positioning.

She neither made an effort to dodge or defend herself. An invisible barrier, a wind barrier took the blow head on, redirected the force back to his body, along with a blast of cool air. Maxwell opted to go with the blow, turned, _twisted_ his leg, to properly redistribute the force the damage. That barrier was definitely not something to play around with, not that it meant anything to him.

He backed up, increased the distance between the two of them to at least twenty feet.

He could feel the wounds from before reopening, along with the stinging numbness of his foot. Maxwell held a hand against his neck, but the act proved to be futile at stopping the bloodflow. Despite it all, he began to laugh, a childish giggle. Ridiculous, madness. Only moments before he had engaged a confrontation, blew it. This was not proper response for such a situation.

"Are you mad? Laughing at the futility of your actions?" Her voice was mocking, oozing with seductiveness all the same. She slowly ran her tongue over her lips, leaned forward, exposing her ample bosom. "However, that doesn't matter. After I finish with you~ I'll leave you in such a broken state~ Wishing for more, begging for more, _living_ for more~ Of my skills~"

"Why do you do, what you do?" Maxwell had to admit, her display did affect him as a male.

Alma, in response, lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? I'm a succubus, Queen Succubus. It is my duty to spread pleasure throughout the world, drown it in the ultimate climax. Why do you ask such silly questions, human?"

"No. That came out wrong." He shook his head, now free of the previous fit of giggles. Now was the time to ask the correct questions, not just the stupid ones that first came to mind. "What do you think is the most important thing in this world?"

"Ara ara~ Are you supposed to be my mother, asking me such things?" She seemed to be genuinely surprised at the question, if not caught off guard. "Pleasure."

 _You have a mother?_ Maxwell pushed that thought aside, then echoed, "Pleasure? What for?"

"Pleasure... it is the source of all life. Life is formed when a man and woman come together to share pleasure with one another, and from that, others go around to spread pleasure. All actions are done for the sake of one thing. Pleasure."

Pleasure. He should not have been caught so off guard by such a response, by virtue of the world's overlying theme. Still, he could not argue against her words. Alma Elma was correct in that pleasure - one way or another - was the driving force behind most, if not all actions taken by humans. Even if someone were doing something they didn't particularity enjoy, it was for the greater good, a benefit. Overall... pleasure.

"Do all succubi follow this train of thought?"

"Yes." Alma seemed almost insulted he had asked her such a question. As if she were talking to a child. "Why would we not take the chance to give the world, _ultimate_ pleasure~ To not be able to feel that pleasure, that would be a curse. But since we're here~~~" She suggestively licked her fingers.

Maxwell lowered his blood-covered hand, replaced it with another.

He had gotten his answers... so why was he still shaking with anticipation. With glee, as well. Alma Elma and the succubi were wind currents, free-moving, with their loyalties extending to only pleasure. He was someone who was wished to break the chains, release the seals placed upon humanity, allow his fellow brethren to rise to their full potential. Someone who would do whatever it took to reach his dream, and allow humanity to willingly make their own choices.

But why was it that he had felt himself on the same wavelength as Alma Elma? Did their wishes align?

No, it was not a possibility. He himself was not a pleasure glutton, let alone some hedonistic-debaucherist. Not in the same sense that most people did. He wished for humanity to break their shackles, to bolster themselves through their own will. However, once said 'shackles' were broken, humanity could either lead themselves into ruin or into heaven. The outcome - even if it came at the cost of his own species - did not matter to him. Granted they were humanity's choices, not another's.

And that could not be done in a world of infinite pleasure, but one of many trials, hardships. One could call it suffering, even.

"Tch, well," he raised both blood-covered hands with a smile on his face, "I must thank you for not attacking, or raping me immediately and for answering my questions. I doubt you expected any pop quizzes today."

"It was my pleasure, _Russel_ , but," her formally kind and innocent smile went sadistic, "I just want to know, what happened to my innocent little Luka-boy~?"

"Ah, that hero-type protagonist... was not needed. Not any longer, his usefulness to me had ran out." Maxwell wiped his hand on his jacket. "Honestly, if I stayed by him... I would've ended up dead sooner or later. Either by him, or Alice. One of them would've caught on, sooner or later."

In an instant, she closed the distance between the two of them, and breathed in his scent, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt. "I was wondering why you weren't traveling with that delicious little treat, but to think you two had a falling out~ Now that's very interesting~ Such a shame that Alice wouldn't let me play with that boy~ But now that you're not traveling with that bothersome Monster Lord, you're a free meal~"

Maxwell lifted a hand to flick her on the forehead, but she was too fast, moving with the wind and out of range. "Perhaps, but you've failed my expectations. I'm quite disappointed really," he chuckled. With no details or features on the lake, the voice carried on in an odd way.

"I've 'failed your expectations'?" She pouted in some kind of disappointment, her hand dropping down to the two sets of buttons restraining her massive bust. "Hora hora~ Is this ultra cwute appearance not enough to satisfy you~ Or do _you_ want to be the one to ravage me~ I'll even allow it, as a gift to Luka-boy's friend~~~"

"I don't particularly care about how much dick you blow everyday, Alma." He smiled at her stiffened posture. "It's just a shame that your goals- _succubi's_ goals not only don't align with the good will of humanity, but will also be a direct line to its failure. You're just as much a threat to my plans as Ilias is, Succubus."

"Aw~" She began in a tone sickeningly sweet enough to make Maxwell shiver. "Comparing me to that wrenched Iliabitch cunt~ Those are quite some strong words there, _Russel_ ~ Or should I call you 'good will of humanity' hero~"

 _Hero? Not for me._ "Yes, they are strong words. And that is because they are the truth. On the contrary, I think calling me a hero is a bit too strong of a word to call me."

"I would call you hypocritical," as she approached, her figure became more visible in the path of the moon's light, "but you're not another brainwashed Ilias slave. However, Alice did allow me to attack in self-defense~" Alma stuck out her tongue and winked. "But she never did say _how_ I have to defend myself~"

"I'd tell you not to take this personally, but that ships' long sailed. You'll just have take my word as I say that I'm not doing this out of any personal grudge or hate towards monsters, Alma Elma. This is only because you happen to be in my way. The same applies to Ilias as well," Maxwell said, grinning. He fractionally fiddled a stylus in the bloodied hand behind him. "Don't worry, I find it just as annoying as you do that I'll have to kill you now."

"Oh, kill wittle ol' me~ I've heard that one before~ From numerous people, just as I brought them up to heaven~" Alma didn't take up any stance, bringing her tail back into view and widening it, left its constants exposed for all the world to see. "Just what are you going to do~?"

 _Finished by the giant sex-demon tail,_ thought Maxwell. There was no way he'd live that down.

"I'd rather leave it as a surprise for you to figure out yourself."

Maxwell leaped forward before Alma could swing her tail forward. It missed, the mass of flesh and the spray of putrid mucus.

Then there was his spinning stylus, that he brought forward in a thrust. That attack was blocked also, not by a barrier of wind, but by a well aimed glob of mucus. Destabilized by the sudden attack, he rolled behind Alma and moved into a position to strike with another stylus. This time at the neck.

Alma Elma quick to react, spun on a heel and raised a flattened hand.

Both combatants aimed to disable each other.

And the attacks that followed drew blood.


End file.
